(re)Born to run (away from England)
by Zero Dark Thirty
Summary: What happens when two people kill each other, when neither of them can die? In this case, they get sent back to try to fulfill their aim again, sans memories. Harry is unsatisfied with the Order of the Phoenix, and longs to bolt to greener pastures. With several new friends in tow, he leaves to Australia. This time, he has no intention of fighting Voldemort. Crossover, Grey Harry
1. Chapter 1

**Heads up, the first half of this prelude, after the first two line breaks, is mostly from the OotP. I needed it to set up things down the road. I do not own Harry Potter. Oh, and I am a fan of Studio C. Any scenes that you recognize from any of the episodes belong to them and not to me. Not guaranteeing I will use them, but it is a possibility, so heads up. The saber-toothed Bunnybat ™ is not of my creation. I do not remember where I read about it, just know that I do not own it. The first chapter will be up soon.**

The country was a wasteland. Mud and craters pockmarked the land, and all the villages in the area had been pulverized and burned to the ground. A dark gray mist hung in the air, further increasing the gloomy atmosphere. A lone man stomped up the path to the ruins of an ancient castle in Scotland, which had originally been used as a school for young wizards. The moon broke through the clouds for a moment and bathed the face of the wizard in light for a moment. He seemed relatively young, only in his very early twenties, but his face and his eyes spoke differently. The green fire sparkling in them, in stark contrast to his raven black hair, caught and held the eyes. They give the impression of one who was world weary, old, who seen the worst of what hell had to offer and had defeated it. They were the eyes of one much older than he. He shivered slightly, as mud squelched into his boot through numerous small holes that had resulted from constant use. He drew his black duster close around his upper body as he continued on, seemingly unaware of his surroundings, yet nothing moved or twitched without his seeing it. His thoughts drifted back to the past.

What fools they had all been. What a fool _he_ had been. He had given everything, every ounce of heart and sweat and blood. And yet, in the end, it was a pyrrhic victory. He had severed himself from the world, from those around him. Those who had cared for him. Of course, he doubted any were still living. Though he had never raised a hand to any of them, slowly, one by one, they drifted away from him, or made their excuses and created some distance between them. All because of his focus and drive. It didn't help that most of the few remaining safe houses had been discovered or betrayed. Among his so-called devoted army, there had proved to be no lack of volunteers who would do anything for the promise of protection and a bit of gold.

He paused, lowering his head for a moment, standing at the entrance to what used to be the great hall, before Hogwarts had been attacked six years ago, and forced to be abandoned. His hand reached out gently, tracing the runes of the decorations that had once greeted the faces of eager young students who had come up the way, fresh faced and eager, ready, in their youthful ignorance, to take on the world. So many had died here. So many… He forced himself to clear his mind for a moment. He gathered his magic until the air seemed to snap and crackle around him with the force. Then he raised his glowing green orbs from the ground and strode through the ruins of the doors which had once so proudly stood, lofty and tall. The enchanted ceiling had long since been destroyed, leaving the real night sky to shine overhead. As he spotted the man standing at the other end of the room, the mist and fog split above their heads and let the stars bear witness what was about to happen.

The man strode out into the light, revealing his reptilian and pasty white face. The face that had inflicted terror across Britain for years. The face that was the last thing many muggleborn witches and wizards had seen before they departed this plane. "Ok Harry." His voice boomed across the ruins. He paused, before looking at the young wizard expectantly. He twitched in annoyance that he somehow knew about that, though he could clearly see what the aim was here. Voldemort was making a mockery of the Gryffindor teams' pre-game tradition to try to irritate him, and it was working. He grudgingly said the next line.

"And Tom." He stated sarcastically.

"And Tom." Lord Voldemort agreed. "This is it."

"The big one." Harry continued.

"The one we have all been waiting for." They both chorused. As one, they flicked their wands into their hands and stared each other down.

"This ends here." Harry snarled in anger.

Voldemort did not respond except for cocking his head to one side. "Must it? We are not so very different, you and I. It doesn't need to end this way."

"Yes, it does." Harry stated coldly.

Riddle bowed his head as he acquiesced. "Very well. You have been a worthy opponent all these years, but this finally comes to an end. You have come much farther than I ever dreamed you would, delved to new depths in order to destroy me. Your single minded obsession has cost both you and the wizarding world in the end though. You were correct, this ends tonight. With your death. Goodbye Harry."

"Goodbye Tom." Harry responded. He might hate the man, but he could not deny that he had been an equal match, in his constant hunting of the dark lord throughout the years. Finally, he had forced a confrontation, and indeed, one way or another, it would end tonight.

The wands came up at the same moment, brothers both, aiming at the wizard across from their owners. The two wizards, the strongest of their age, focused all their motivation into their next pair of words, which were spoken simultaneously. "Avada Kedavra." From Voldemort, it was barely a whisper, while for Harry it was a loud bellow that evoked memories of all he had lost, before packaging his pain and regret into the words. The two streaks of green light streaked towards each other, skating by each other by mere inches. Neither attempted to move out of the way of the killing curse. Harry's eyes met Voldemort's in the moment before the curses connected, as the vision of them both went black.

(Line break)

Harry's eyes shot open with a start, to see only a blank expanse of white surrounding him in every direction. The white was so bright it almost blinded him. He put the heels of his hand over his eyes to protect them as he listened to the two voices.

"Interesting," mused one, who had a very deep and regal sounding voice. "A simultaneous death for both, cast by identical curses from brother wands. I must say, that is not how I expected this to end."

A light female voice answered him, tinkling lightly. Just the sound of her voice was enough to call up his fondest memories involuntarily, sounding like the babbling of water in a brook. "Mayhap not. But don't give me that, you might not have, quote, 'expected' it, unquote, but you knew it would happen. Yet neither of them is truly dead. You know what the options left are."

"Yes… That is true. Yet I am loath to make any of the three decisions. The one would not do anyone any good, and this scene would merely repeat itself further down the road. The other would be giving them both a second chance. Would it be fair to remove all the souls currently resting in peace just so that young Mr. Potter here has another chance that he messed up on the first time? I am of half a mind simply to throw them both into torment, their souls are certainly dark enough."

"But the one did it with full knowledge, and the other thought he had no choice, and did what he thought was required. Yes, they both have blood on their hands, but the circumstances are vastly different, and as such it would be unjust to punish them both by the same standard." The female voice pointed out.

"All right." The deep voice conceded. "You have a fair point. In that case, we will leave it up to the souls of those who would be affected by the second shot. All those in favor of returning them both?" No sound was made for a few moments before the creaking of a rocking chair was heard as the male voice sat back. "A unanimous vote." He said in an amused tone of voice. "All of them are willing to be removed and possibly go through torment again. I have not seen such faith in many centuries. In that case, I should probably prepare to send them back."

"Wait! Do we really want them to go back with all their knowledge? Could the boy even live with the knowledge of what happened?"

"Then I will wipe both of their memories from the point I will place them at backwards, with the exception of their name. Is that acceptable?" Harry could not see it, but he got the impression the female voice nodded. "Then here we go." Harry heard the snap of fingers before he knew no more.

(line break)

Emerald eyes snapped open with a gasp, as Harry staggered in midstride. He dropped back for a moment, bracing himself against a wall as he motioned on for the other kids around him to move ahead. One had seen the momentary flash of… something… in his face and also halted, peering into his face inquisitively. "Harry, what's wrong?"

Harry looked at the boy, who had a slightly pudgy face. He frowned for a moment. "What is your name again?" He asked curiously. He had the felling he should know this boy, but he could not put a name to the face.

"Neville. Neville Longbottom. We have known each other since first year. Are you trying to play a prank? Because if you are, it's not a very good one. Besides, now is not the right time for joshing around."

"First year?" Harry parroted back at him, confused. "What is that?"

"You really don't remember? Oh, I get it. You want me to play along with your joke. Okay. In that case, we all go to a school in Scotland called Hogwarts School for wizardry and witchcraft. The years for the students are first through seventh. Although I should amend my earlier statement, you knew my name since first year. Didn't stop you and your buddies from stunning me though." He muttered under his breath resentfully.

Harry heard it and winced. "Uh… Sorry?" He apologized weakly.

Neville waved a hand at him, barely acknowledging it. "Eh. We can worry about that later. Anyway, we are here to rescue your godfather, who is being tortured in the department of mysteries in the lowest level of the Ministry of Magic by You-know-who, which houses the magical government. That's Luna, Ginny, Hermione, etc. Did I miss anything?"

"Who is you-know who?" Inwardly, Harry snickered. ' _You-know-who? What a stupid name. How would anyone even know who they are talking about?'_

"You know…" Neville trailed off, hoping that Harry would let it drop.

"No, I actually don't." ' _What is his problem? It's just a name. What harm can it do?'_

"V-V-Voldemort. Anything else?" Neville finally stammered out, forcing the word from between his lips like it caused him pain.

"No." Harry agreed, trying to put him at ease, mind frantically racing to put the pieces together, trying to deflect any attention by playing along.

He looked up and scowled. A redhead was coming towards him, interested by Neville and Harry not keeping up with the group.

"Harry, mate, are you all right?" The redhead asked, moving closer. Harry glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, attention still on the boy apparently named Neville. He recognized this type of boy, oh yes. The not so smart and clever ones, who would tag along with the people better than them to bask in the reflected fame and glory. The jealous ones, who would always abandon you when you needed it most. You could never count on them. They only had their own best interests in mind.

"I am fine, thank you." He stated coolly, hoping the boy would get the message and leave. ' _Go away!_ ' He was shouting in his head. _'I need to find out what is going on here!'_ The boy did not catch the unspoken message and creeped closer, cocking his head.

"Are you sure? You don't look alright." He asked, somewhat rhetorically.

Harry cocked an eyebrow at him, irritated at his denseness. "I am sneaking around the main government building for all the wizards in the country. I am out at almost midnight, breaking curfew, trespassing laws, and probably another dozen or so as well on top of that. I could get expelled or killed if anything goes wrong. On top of all that, I have a crazed megalomaniac with a massive ego complex constantly bothering me, by messing with my head. So thank you, everything's just peachy!" He snapped, turning away, wondering to himself how he knew all that instinctively.

He felt a small twinge of regret at the harshness; he had not meant to be quite so rough on him. Eh. He squashed it down. _'I can worry about that later. Right now I need to concern myself with not getting us all killed. His feelings can wait.'_

The hurt look on his face faded to indignation. He opened his mouth to say something, but was silenced when the bushy brown haired girl shushed him, before putting her hands on her hips. What was her name again? Oh yes. Hermione Granger. "You know Harry." She began to lecture. "The least you could do is be grateful. We are down here, to rescue _your_ godfather, and risking ourselves in the process! Do you have any idea how many rules and regulations we are breaking right now?" she asked bossily. She began to list them all off. After a moment, he tuned her out, and concentrated on looking for where he wanted to go. At least she had told him who they were here for, and ostensibly why he was important to him. As she continued unabated, not noticing the long suffering look appearing on every face but Luna's, he groaned mentally. ' _A teacher's pet, and a know-it-all to boot. Joy. Someone just kill me now.'_

(line break)

Harry stared at it. "What is it?" Ron asked, sounding unnerved. "What's your name doing down here?" He glanced along at the other labels on that stretch of shelf. "I'm not here," he said, sounding perplexed. "None of the rest of us are here. . . ."

"Harry, I don't think you should touch it," said Hermione sharply, as he stretched out his hand.

"Why not?" he said. "It's something to do with me, isn't it? I mean, it has my name on it." _'Come on, grow a backbone, why don't you?_ ' He raged at her mentally. Come to think of it, what was he doing here? He was here for a prophecy, and for Sirius, yes. But why was he obligated to follow this through to the end? This was the Ministry of Magic wasn't it? Surely there was some kind of security force around. They could retire from the field of battle, and let the Aurors rescue Sirius. They would do a much better job than a few teens could. Then, once the mess was mopped up, he could ask to see the prophecy. Mission accomplished. No muss, no fuss. Harry wasn't stupid. He just supposedly happened to get a vision, which showed someone he was apparently close to, in the one room which contained something of interest to Voldemort, who could not retrieve it himself. Why not let Harry get it for him? If Sirius really was here, they would have seen a sign of him by now. Which likely meant that Death Eaters were lurking nearby. As cocky and bold as he may be, he knew when he was beat. It was time to try to find a way out. Discretion is the better part of valor, after all. He was still thinking furiously when a voice broke into his thoughts.

"Don't, Harry," said Neville suddenly. Harry looked around at him. Neville's round face was shining slightly with sweat. He looked as though he could not take much more suspense.

"It's got my name on," said Harry. And feeling slightly reckless, against his better judgment, he closed his fingers around the dusty ball's surface. He had expected it to feel cold, but it did not. On the contrary, it felt as though it had been lying in the sun for hours, as though the glow of light within was warming it. Expecting, even hoping, that something dramatic was going to happen, something exciting that might make their long and dangerous journey worthwhile after all, he lifted the glass ball down from its shelf and stared at it. Nothing whatsoever happened. The others moved in closer around Harry, gazing at the orb as he brushed it free of the clogging dust. And then, from right behind them, a drawling voice said,

"Very good, Potter. Now turn around, nice and slowly, and give that to me." He groaned mentally again. He hated it when his instincts were right. He exasperatedly turned around.

Black shapes were emerging out of thin air all around them, blocking their way left and right; eyes glinted through slits in hoods, a dozen lit wand tips were pointing directly at their hearts. Ginny gave a gasp of horror. "To me, Potter," repeated the drawling voice of Lucius Malfoy as he held out his hand, palm up. Harry's insides plummeted sickeningly. They were trapped and outnumbered two to one. "To me," said Malfoy yet again.

"Where's Sirius?" Harry said. Several of the Death Eaters laughed.

A harsh female voice from the midst of the shadowy figures to Harry's left said triumphantly, "The Dark Lord always knows!"

"Always," echoed Malfoy softly. "Now, give me the prophecy, Potter."

"I want to know where Sirius is!"

"I want to know where Sirius is!" mimicked the woman to his left. She and her fellow Death Eaters had closed in so that they were mere feet away from Harry and the others, the light from their wands dazzling Harry's eyes.

"You've got him," said Harry, ignoring the rising panic in his chest, the dread he had been fighting since they had first entered the ninetyseventh row. "He's here. I know he is."

"The little baby woke up fwightened and fort what it dweamed was twoo," said the woman in a horrible, mock-baby voice. Harry felt Ron stir beside him.

"Don't do anything," he muttered. "Not yet —" The woman who had mimicked him let out a raucous scream of laughter.

"You hear him? You hear him? Giving instructions to the other children as though he thinks of fighting us!"

"Oh, you don't know Potter as I do, Bellatrix," said Malfoy softly. "He has a great weakness for heroics; the Dark Lord understands this about him. Now give me the prophecy, Potter."

"I know Sirius is here," said Harry, though panic was causing his chest to constrict and he felt as though he could not breathe properly. "I know you've got him!" More of the Death Eaters laughed, though the woman still laughed loudest of all.

"It's time you learned the difference between life and dreams, Potter," said Malfoy. "Now give me the prophecy, or we start using wands."

"Go on, then," said Harry, raising his own wand to chest height. As he did so, the five wands of Ron, Hermione, Neville, Ginny, and Luna rose on either side of him. The knot in Harry's stomach tightened. If Sirius really was not here, he had led his companions to their deaths for no reason at all. . . . But the Death Eaters did not strike.

"Hand over the prophecy and no one need get hurt," said Malfoy coolly.

It was Harry's turn to laugh. "Yeah, right!" he said. "I give you this — prophecy, is it? And you'll just let us skip off home, will you?" Please. He knew the only way they were getting out of here intact was through a fight. Even with his memories gone, he saw that lie from a mile away. The words were hardly out of his mouth when the female Death Eater shrieked, "Accio Proph —" Harry was just ready for her. He shouted "Protego!" instinctively before she had finished her spell, and though the glass sphere slipped to the tips of his fingers he managed to cling on to it.

"Oh, he knows how to play, little bitty baby Potter," she said, her mad eyes staring through the slits in her hood. "Very well, then —"

"I TOLD YOU, NO!" Lucius Malfoy roared at the woman. "If you smash it — !" Harry's mind was racing. The Death Eaters wanted this dusty spun-glass sphere. He had no interest in it. He just wanted to get them all out of this alive, make sure that none of his friends paid a terrible price for his stupidity . . . The woman stepped forward, away from her fellows, and pulled off her hood. Azkaban had hollowed Bellatrix Lestrange's face, making it gaunt and skull-like, but it was alive with a feverish, fanatical glow.

"You need more persuasion?" she said, her chest rising and falling rapidly. "Very well — take the smallest one," she ordered the Death Eaters beside her. "Let him watch while we torture the little girl. I'll do it." Harry felt the others close in around Ginny. He stepped sideways so that he was right in front of her, the prophecy held up to his chest.

"You'll have to smash this if you want to attack any of us," he told Bellatrix. "I don't think your boss will be too pleased if you come back without it, will he?"

"That won't be necessary." Everyone turned to see the source of the calm voice coming from a person with a dark hood pulled over their head, hiding their face in shadow, dressed in the uniform of the Unspeakables. Lucius frowned.

"I thought we got rid of all of you…" He muttered under his breath. "Apparently we missed one. Oh well. If you had been smart you would have stayed out of the way. Now I need to get rid of you. Avada Kedavra!" He barked, the green light streaking from the end of his wand.

The Unspeakable raised his hands and a shimmering silver barrier rose in front of him, intercepting the killing curse. His body trembled with effort as the Unforgivable crashed against the barrier, forcing him to concentrate on holding it at bay. Just as the shield caved and burst, he threw himself sideways, allowing the green light to splash harmlessly past him onto the wall. He tucked himself into a roll and came back to his feet, wand pointing at the awestruck Death Eaters.

"Hah. Unstoppable curse my foot." He murmured. "People always were too terrified of that spell."

"What? How?" Bellatrix spluttered.

The hooded figure smirked. "Please. Like I would tell you what I did, the last thing I need is more knowledge of it to get out. And it did not block it. It just held it off so I could get out of the way. I had hoped for better results. Apparently I need to start over."

"Why would you interfere?" One of the Death Eaters asked. "You may have some spells we have never seen, but you cannot stand up to us."

The hooded figure non-wand hand reached up and pulled the cowl off of his face, revealing the greasy hair of Severus Snape. "Snape?" The Death Eaters and Harry exclaimed at the same time.

The potions master whispered, barely loud enough for the Death Eaters to hear it. "You did not even bother to wonder what I did in my non-teaching time did you? I have a part time job in the Unspeakables, which is how I had access to here. As for why I am interfering-"

"Traitor!" Lucius Malfoy howled. "You will pay for abandoning the Dark Lord Severus!"

Snape tilted his head to one side, thinking it over, before he smirked and shook his head. "No. I don't think I will. Now, before I was interrupted, I was explaining. I promised Lily Evans to protect her son. It did not help your case that your master went back on his promise of sparing her life. I have been trying to help Harry since his very first quidditch game in first year. It wasn't easy, and I had to turn a blind eye to the Slytherins so as not to tip my hand, but I managed. Tell me, who came up with the idea of luring Potter here? It can't have been you Bella. You're insane. Malfoy? No, too much of a goody-two shoes. A congratulation on that new wing in Saint Mungo's being named after you by the way. McNair? No. Not smart enough. Could not even kill a hippogriff properly. Rookwood? Maybe… You always were the best out of this lot." He mused aloud.

The Death Eaters had grown steadily redder in the face as Snape went down the list. Malfoy finally had enough. "That's it Severus. You were already going to die, now you will suffer first, and you will beg for death to take you. Crucio!" Snape lazily cast a basic spell which levitated a piece of rubble in the way which blocked it.

"Please. Stop underestimating me. Just because I am a potions master does not mean I don't know basic spells. Anyway, I already sent a message to the aurors and the Order of the Phoenix, so if we could get a move on with the fighting?" he drawled.

In answer, all the Death Eaters raised their wands and began casting spells. Snape pointed his wand towards the ground, a few feet in front of him. "Bombarda!" He whispered. The exploding curse slammed into the stone floor, sending chips of stone and dust into the air. He quickly threw a smoke producing hex for good measure to camouflage his movements, before turning back to Harry and his friends. "Follow me!" He whispered harshly, before running past them in the direction of the exit, shoving over shelfs of prophecies as he went, sending the glass globes crashing down onto the heads of the Death Eaters. Dozens of figures, pearly white as ghosts, fluid as smoke, unfurled themselves from the fragments of broken glass upon the floor and each began to speak. Their voices vied with each other, so that only fragments could be heard. "Run!" Harry shouted, and as the shelves swayed precariously and more glass spheres began to pour from above, he seized a handful of Hermione's robes and dragged her forward, one arm over his head as chunks of shelf and shards of glass thundered down upon them. A Death Eater lunged forward through the cloud of dust and Harry elbowed him hard in the masked face. They were all yelling, there were cries of pain, thunderous crashes as the shelves collapsed upon themselves, weirdly echoing fragments of the Seers unleashed from their spheres. Not having any better ideas than Snape, the students followed him towards the door. Snape wrenched the door open before turning and waving them on. "Hurry!"

One by one they ran through the doors, getting some things between them and the Death Eaters. Harry winced at the beautiful, dancing, diamond-sparkling light that shone into his eyes. As Harry's eyes became more accustomed to the brilliant glare he saw all the clocks gleaming from every surface, large and small, grandfather and carriage, hanging in spaces between the bookcases or standing on desks ranging the length of the room, so that a busy, relentless ticking filled the place like thousands of minuscule, marching footsteps. Snape wheeled and began casting every locking charm he could think of on the door, before turning and manhandling shelves and cabinets over. "Help me!" Snape hissed, as he struggled with the cabinet that the friends suspected contained the Time Turners. Neville rushed to help him and together they shoved it over. The cabinet shattered, before reassembling itself and falling apart again. "Finite." Snape said as he stopped the magic. They could hear Death Eaters on the opposite side of the improvised barricade hammering away in indignation. They knew with one glance that it would not hold them for long. "Stand back." Snape growled, waving his wand in a complex pattern, gathering all the sand from the broken time turners into a mass in front of him. The friends edged back towards the opposite entryway as Snape crouched to make himself a smaller target.

Harry reached a hand out to touch the swirling red and gold mass hovering in the air, entranced by it for some reason. Neville grabbed his arm and forced it down, dragging him back. "Do not touch it!" He hissed. "Who knows what touching that could do to you? Do you want to go back to being a baby?"

On the other side of the doorway Malfoy and Bellatrix danced in impatience. "Faster you fools, faster! The Dark Lord wants the prophecy!" As the door finally fell, the two stood to one side, wisely letting the less smart Death Eaters through first.

At the first sign of black cloaks, Severus swept his wand forward, throwing the mass of brilliantly colored sand into the faces of the oncoming death eaters. The first one in fell screaming to the floor, hands scrabbling at his face desperately as his head shrank down to the size of a tennis ball, his screams coming out as a high-pitched annoying whistle. Snape quickly conjured a cage around him so he could have no more impact on the fight, before striking several more of the dark wizards with the grains of sand. As soon as they were through the door screams erupted from the room, interspersed with whining, crying, and unintelligible babble. Exchanging perplexed looks, the wizards who had not rushed forward like a foolhardy Gryffindor cautiously peeked through the door. The sight stunned them. Lying on the floor, inside even more hastily conjured steel cages, lay the dark wizards. Various parts of their bodies were ballooning up and shrinking rapidly, as the time turner sand caused their bodies to spontaneously age and de-age at the same time. As they carefully walked into the room Snape stood up and looked at Harry.

"I'll take Malfoy. You and Neville handle Bellatrix. Can you four try to keep the others off our backs?" He asked Ginny, Luna, Ron, and Hermione. He got four nods. "Good. Try not to die, that would cause me excess paperwork." He turned around and began exchanging hexes with Lucius and Harry and Neville positioned themselves in front of Lestrange.

"Let me tell you how this is going to go down." The insane Bellatrix quietly told the two wizards who faced off with her. "You give me the prophecy, and I will kill you quickly. Sound good?" She hadn't even finished her statement before she lunged forward. "Abrumbre!" Neville yelped and dove out of the way, with Harry close behind him. Her follow up curse was met with a shield from Neville which successfully blocked it.

"You tortured my parents into insanity." Neville spat with venom. "You're going down."

"Awww, does the little squib want to play? Does little Neville want to make his grandmother proud?" She crooned, making a mockery of him.

Neville turned red with anger but managed to restrain himself. Bellatrix turned to Harry.

"Oh yes, the famous 'boy-who-lived', can't forget about you." She said quietly. "You are known for your heroics in the favor of the light, Lucius was right about that. How does it feel to be betrayed by your own side?"

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked in a deadly quiet tone of voice. Lestrange cackled harshly.

"We never had your god-father. Whoever told you he was not at home was lying to you. How stupid are you?" She shook her head in incredulity. "Why would we torture him here, in the heart of the Ministry, with no way out? For that matter, why didn't you get the prophecy from the Headmaster? After all, he was the one it was told to." She cast another bludgeoning hex towards Harry, who jumped out of the way. Which was exactly what she had planned. The moment she fired the hex she race forward, arm reaching for the glass sphere Harry still held.

"Lumos!" Neville shouted, jabbing the wand right in front of her face as the end erupted in light. She fell back, wailing, clawing at her face as the light seared her retinas. She shook her head as her eyesight slowly returned and she grinned savagely.

"Right. Your godfather will pay for that."

Harry cocked his head to the side. "What do you mean? I thought you said you didn't have him?" Lestrange laughed harshly.

"We don't. But we do have a spy in your precious order. My dear cousin should be here in three, two, one…" She cast an Avada Kedavra towards one of the door high above them. Moments later, two more doors burst open and five more people sprinted into the room: Sirius, Lupin, Moody, Tonks, and Kingsley. Lupin saw the incoming curse and yelled "Look out!" before leaping into the air over the streak of green light. Moody and Kinsley also got out of the way, but the clumsy pink-haired auror was unable to get out of the way in time. Sirius roared and shoved her out of the way, sending her into a wall as he was hit by the killing curse. The room fell silent as Sirius stood upright for a second before falling to the floor in a crumbled heap.

"Sirius!" Harry wailed. The curses again started to fly as people concentrated on the battle as Harry ran towards his godfather's side. He quickly turned the body over and looked at Sirius' face, which was set in a peaceful look. Harry fumbled for a pulse, but could not find one. The import of that sunk in on him as he stayed kneeling for a moment, in a state of shock. "No." He muttered. "NO!" he yelled to the room. He heard a muffled "Harry!" from behind him before he was slammed into a wall by Bellatrix, who took advantage of his distraction. He blacked out for a moment before coming to. He glanced around the room and caught a glimpse of Snape exchanging hexes with three Death Eaters, one of them Malfoy. He slowly got back to his feet and raised his wand, aiming at Bellatrix, who was advancing on Neville.

"Stupefy!" He yelled. Nothing happened. He glanced down at his wand and blanched. His wand had been broken, consisting of two parts connected by the slenderest filament of phoenix feather. He heard a yell as Lestrange disarmed Neville.

"Now, where were we?" She mused to herself. "I know. Like parents, like son. Crucio!" Neville's body began to shake under it as Harry ran across the room, intent on reaching her. He had already lost someone close to him, he would not loose Neville too. He yelled and his magic responding, lashing out instinctively and slamming into Bellatrix, sending her sprawling. She was back on her feet in a moment. Her nose was bent to the side and it was bleeding.

"You little brat!" She snarled. "Be that way. Crucio!" She yelled, aiming this time at Harry. Harry screamed as he felt the pain, falling to the floor and jerking around as his mind blanked out. Then the curse ended. Neville has stood shakily and tackled her to the floor and was seated on her, launching punch after punch into her face as she struggled to defend herself. Then she got a grip on his hand and managed to throw him off of her. Neville scrabbled for his wand and grabbed it as Bellatrix raised her wand. She had a very nice pair of black eyes and her face was bleeding from where Neville had hit her. Her wand tip started to glow green as she started the incantation. "Avada-"

"Stop!" Harry yelled, getting her attention. "That's enough. You know what?" Harry asked quietly, tucking the remains of his wand into his robes and fishing the sphere out of his pocket. "I don't need this. I have lived my life without it. I'm done with letting other people control my life. I refuse to let my life be controlled by a prophecy." He pulled his arm back and threw the ball of glass, intentionally lobbing it so that it took time to hit the ground. Bellatrix shrieked in horror and ran towards it, before realizing she would never make it in time. She aimed her wand carefully at the falling object. She would only have one chance at this.

"Accio prophecy!" The ball zoomed into her hand and she held it aloft in triumph before falling as Neville drilled her with a series of stunners in the back from close range. She shuddered as she slumped to the ground, the ball rolling over to Harry's foot. He glanced at it, then back up at Neville, who was barely standing and looked to be close to tears at the taunting and insults Lestrange had thrown at him.

"Neville? I know you love soccer. Would you do the honors?" He gestured to the prophecy and slowly Neville started to grin.

"You sure?"

"Yes. Dumbledore has known the whole time and refused to tell me. I wish I had never heard of the cursed thing. Between it and my stupidity, Sirius died. I refuse to allow that to control me. Here it comes." Harry picked it up and rolled it towards Neville, who pulled his leg back and swung, connecting solidly with the small glass ball, sending it rocketing down the hall and into a wall, shattering it. Neville quickly cast a silencing charm on the area around it, muffling the sound. Once it was finished, the pearly white figure disintegrated into nothingness and Harry looked like a great weight had been lifted off his back. He smiled at Neville. "Thanks mate."

"No problem. Any idea what we should do with this piece of filth?" He gestured to Bellatrix who was still out cold. The two wizards stood next to her and looked down before glancing at each other.

"Y'know Neville, they are just going to put her back in Azkaban, where she will either escape or be allowed out by corrupt members of the Ministry. And she did torture your parents into insanity…" They exchanged a slightly evil smile before Harry moved to block the view of anyone who came along. Neville pointed his wand at the prone figure on the ground and carefully tried to cast a spell on her. She twitched but nothing else happened.

Neville frowned. "Why didn't that work? I could swear I did it correctly…"

"You did, Mr. Longbottom." Snape swished up beside them, cloak billowing behind him dramatically. "You were just too tired to actually succeed, though it was certainly was an ambitious try. It was almost Slytherin worthy. Ten points to Gryffindor." Harry and Neville exchanged a look, the content of which was easy to decipher. Snape had clearly lost his mind. Even without his memories, he knew this was borderline impossible. "Let me show you how it is done." Snape pointed his wand and cast the same spell Neville had. Bellatrix's body shuddered and jerked before changing shape and shrinking. In moments, Bellatrix Lestrange was gone. In her place was an ugly little mutt of a Mexican hairless dog. Neville raised his wand and muttered a few other words under his breath before he straightened up, shaking in exhaustion, having almost exhausted his magical reserves.

"Hey Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"Obliviate me."

Harry did a double take. "What?"

"Obliviate me. I tied her transformation into a password, which if spoken will transform her back. Obliviate me. I want it gone, out of reach forever."

Harry frowned. "Okay. I see your reasoning, and I agree, but how am I supposed to cast it? My wand is broken remember?" He pulled out the pieces of his holly and phoenix feather wand and showed it to Neville.

Snape silently reached into his pocket and handed Harry his wand. Harry was stunned. The biggest act of trust for a wizard was to willing give up his wand to another wizard. "Professor, this is-"

"Yes, I know Potter. Now hurry up and use it before you invariably do something stupid and reckless and break it." Snape said gruffly. Neville cut off any possible response from Harry.

"I trust you Harry." He closed his eyes and waited as Harry walked up to him and held the wand to his temple.

"Obliviate." Harry said softly, before tapping Neville on the shoulder and giving Snape back his wand. Neville opened his eyes and sighed.

"Thanks Harry." He strode over to the dog and stood over it, reviving it before blasting it with a body-bind curse. He leaned over her. "That was for my parents. And this is for Sirius." He picked up her wand and snapped over his knee before incinerating the pieces. "May you suffer for the rest of your life. Payback's a bitch, isn't it?" He left her there and walked over to Harry. "Unfortunately she was hit by an unknown spell from one of the Death Eaters that were here and her transformation is irreversible. Such a pity. Ready to go?" Harry nodded before they both started towards the exit. Neville staggered and started to fall before Harry caught him.

"Don't go fainting on me now." He warned his friend. "You aren't getting out of an interview with Rita Skeeter that easily." Neville managed a weak chuckle before falling asleep due to magical exhaustion. Harry carried him out before turning him over to an emergency mediwizard and watching him be portkeyed to St. Mungo's. Then he leaned against a wall and gave a weary groan before rubbing his face with one hand. "What a mess."

The Ministry shuddered and Harry straightened up in alarm before running towards the noise, momentarily forgetting his wand was broken. He entered into the atrium and stared. One wall was practically missing, dust and debris were everywhere, and bodies lay strewn over the ground. He recognized a few of the Order members, Lupin seemed to be fine, but Shacklebolt was lying against some bricks, his shattered left arm hugged close to his body as he tried to stem the bleeding. Then he looked up and caught sight of a pair of glowing red eyes and froze. Voldemort strode towards him, his white face split with a grim smile.

"My, my. Little Potter here, alone, with no one of any value to protect him." He said sibilantly, sneering at Lupin, who had gotten back to his feet warily, holding his wand in a loose grip.

"Not true, _Tom._ " A voice spat back in disgust, perfectly matching the disdain in the Dark Lord's tone. Severus Snape walked in front of Harry and stood there protectively.

Voldemort arched an eyebrow delicately. "How terrifying. I knew you were devoted to Potter's mother, but this is extreme even for you. In exchange for your past service, I give you one chance to recant your decisions and bring me Potter."

Snape shook his head firmly. "Never. I have chosen my side and I will stand by it. Not very Slytherin of me, oh well." He snarked, eyes glued to the Dark Lord's wrist.

"You fool." Voldemort snarled. "I am going to rule Britain, and you could have remained one of my inner circle. We both know that your magical core is not as strong as mine. I will crush you like a bug. Bombarda!" The explosive curse flew towards Snape, who sidestepped, eyes not leaving his opponent as the statue in the middle of the fountain exploded under the spell, the head of the witch coming perilously close to braining Harry.

Snape growled. "Sectumsempra." His personal curse flew close to Voldemort before it shattered on a transfigured piece of stone which now was a rampart with spears sticking out of it, complete with a flag bearing the dark mark. Snape shook his head in disgust. "Now he's just showing off." He mumbled to himself. "Lupin!" He barked. "Get Potter out of here. I can't hold him for long." He cast a stunner at Voldemort who dispelled it with a lazy flick of his wand.

Remus nodded his understanding and raced across the hall, dodging a curse from the last Death Eater standing thanks to his honed reflexes before launching a return curse. He grabbed Harry and dragged him along, heading towards the nearest way out. They were almost there when-

"Going somewhere?" Voldemort bellowed. He waved his wand in a complex motion before foot thick slabs of steel fell in front of all the exits in the room. Remus skidded to a stop, barely avoiding running into it and gawked at the construct. He shook his head rapidly and started trying to burn his way through, concentrating solely on his task. Harry shifted from foot to foot anxiously, mentally berating himself. Stupid, stupid, _stupid_! He had rushed headfirst into the problem without thinking, without anything to protect himself. 'Classic Gryffindor' He chided mentally. Didn't the Ravenclaws have a saying? Look before you leap?

Meanwhile, Snape was still fighting Voldemort. Voldemort's curses kept growing in power and complexity, while Snape's, oddly enough, consisted of only second and third year spells. Expelliarmus, Stupefy, Tantalegra, Perfictualis Totalis, etc. Snape refused to block any of the Dark Lord's spells and only pivoted out of the way. Voldemort was clearly getting frustrated with this form of fighting. He released another barrage of blood-freezing curses at Snape, who rolled out of the way.

"Fight me coward!" He cried, throwing another hex at Snape.

"What, you want me to be a Gryffindor?" Snape gasped in mock astonishment. He shook his head in disgust. "I should have known. What I ever saw in you that made me follow you, I have no idea. You have no idea what I have been doing have you?"

Voldemort frowned, quickly glancing around, making sure nothing had changed before returned his gaze to Snape. "Actually, no, I don't." He sneered.

Snape shook his head patronizingly. "Tom, Tom. It is true that your magic is stronger than mine, but not even you can keep going forever. I have done two things, one, conserve my power and two, stall. Dumbledore get your arse over here!" He bellowed, throwing another leg-locker curse at Voldemort.

"Right, enough games!" Voldemort yelled. He whipped his wand around in a hexagonal shape before muttering something under his breath. A black mist issued from his wand tip and started to drift over the room. "The Black Death spell. Let's see you dodge _this,_ Snape."

Severus frowned, unsure of how to approach this, before settling for casting a shield around it to contain it and slowly retreating away. Unfortunately, this kind of containing shield required constant attention, so he had to struggle to keep the magic up and fight Voldemort at the same time. Voldemort cackled in glee, a sound oddly reminiscent of Bellatrix Lestrange, as he started to advance on Snape, a constant stream of dark magic curses emanating from his wand tip. Severus did his best to escape them, while idly noting that he only recognized a few of them: the Bone Eater, Nerve Destroyer, and Everlasting Fire, among others. Finally Voldemort stood a few feet from the potions master and raised his wand, the tip glowing green. "The first blood in a new war!" He crowed. "Avada-"

"Screw this!" Severus slapped his wand into the palm of his hand as magic exploded out from the contact, a shockwave of light and sound spreading across the room. The whole building shook from the explosion as Harry gingerly felt his ear and his fingers met blood trickling from a burst eardrum. Neon orange liquid now was splattered around the room, and the black mist was nowhere to be seen.

One of the steel blocks placed in front of the doors was blasted inward as Dumbledore ran into the room and took in the scene quickly. He shook his head sadly upon seeing all the bodies on the ground. So much needless death. So many dead who could have been redeemed as worthy members of society.

"Severus!" He called urgently. "Let Harry fight him!" At that, every head in the room swiveled and looked at Dumbledore incredulously, including Voldemort. The Dark Lord stared at the Headmaster, arching an eyebrow.

"What?" He asked, sure he must have heard wrong. Perhaps he should send Wormtail to get him so magical ear prescription. "You can't possibly be serious."

Snape shook his head in disbelief. "You idiot!" He bellowed at Dumbledore, the headmaster jerking back in shock at someone talking to him like that. Especially, his calm, loyal spy. "You would send Potter to his death? He does not even have a wand!"

Dumbledore shuffled his feet, aware of the stunned gazes on him from around the room. He thought hurriedly and settled for regrouping. "Oh. In that case… Tom, leave! You cannot hope to defeat us." He said confidantly

Voldemort and Snape glanced at each other. "Is he...?" The Dark Lord asked, waving a finger in a circle next to his temple. "You know..."

"Apparently." Snape shook his head in disbelief before addressing the Headmaster. "And what 'us' are you referring to?" He asked coldly. "You have been avoiding this fight while I tried to keep Harry alive, to force Harry to fight him? Are you insane?" For a long time people had wondered if Dumbledore was slightly mad, this just seemed to confirm those theories.

"Severus." Dumbledore chided, seemingly forgetting where they were. "That is no way to talk. And did you have to kill the Death Eaters? We could have rehabilitated them, convin-"

"SHUT UP!" Snape howled to the sky. "YOU BLASTED, BLITHERING, BLOODY IDIOT!" He paused for a second, visibly attempting to calm himself. "When will you see Potter as a person and not a weapon? I fell into the trap of thinking he was someone other than he is, and you are too! You put so much faith in a prophecy, and cower in your school, instead of taking action! This is a war, not a training exercise! If you truly believe that the Death Eaters could be redeemed, you deserve to be forced into retirement and placed in the mental asylum at St. Mungo's!" He caught his breath after that little outburst and he glared at the Headmaster. "We will continue this at a later date. For now…" He wheeled and looked at Voldemort, who looked highly amused by the tirade. "Shall we continue?"

"We shall." They again began to fight, ignoring the pleas of Dumbledore.

"Let me fight him Severus!" Dumbledore commanded. "You cannot hope to stand up to him!" Snape stopped and turned, his wand rising to point at the wizard.

"Way to be encouraging." He sneered, his robes flapping around him in the nonexistent wind. "Maybe if you actually had some of that famed Gryffindor bravery in you, you could have ended this war sooner. After all, you are 'The only one he ever feared.'" He said with a mocking tone of voice. Several yards away Voldemort snarled.

"I never feared you. I just did not attack the only place I ever called home. Yet Snape here, despite being a traitor, which he will suffer for, has put up more of a fight than you ever did, so stay out of this!" United by dislike for the man, Voldemort and Snape both launched a few spell chains at Dumbledore without looking, hitting him and sending him flying backwards, unconscious. "Now after that little interruption, I am sorry to say that you all must die!" He threw a bludgeoning hex towards Harry which Lupin intercepted by throwing himself in the way, the backlash throwing the werewolf into a wall.

Snape looked at Voldemort, his greasy hair covering one eye. "Have you ever heard of the Weasley twins? I thought not. They were in Gryffindor, and while they were mostly pranksters, they did accomplish some interesting devices. Like this one!" He pulled a small package from his pocket and rapped it with his wand before hurling it at Voldemort. The Dark Lord's eyes widened and he hastily cast a shield as the portable swamp exploded in front of him, coating the bubble-like shield in a thick layer of sludge. Snape did not give him any respite, throwing various things at him. Most he managed to dispel or dodge, such as the fireworks, the fake wands, and the exploding dungbombs. There was one he did not. With a windup and a throw that any major-league pitcher would have been jealous of, Snape carefully aimed a piece of candy that hit Voldemort in the mouth. Voldemort's eyes bulged as he struggled to avoid choking on his tongue, which had thickened and extended. Severus smirked, surveying the ton-tongue toffee's result.

"Look at that. Cat got your tongue?" Snape quickly conjured dozens of marbles and muttered a spell which made them continuously follow him and pelt him in the face as Voldemort attempted to fix his tongue. He was not having much success, as he did not know the counter offhand and the rain of marbles constantly smacking into his head did not help his concentration. "Time to end this." Snape threw a small box towards Voldemort which opened and an odd creature flew up and began biting him. Snape did not bother to see the result, but calmly walked over to Harry, making sure he was uninjured.

Harry stared at the odd sight, the feared Dark Lord with a ridiculously long tongue, being attacked by marbles and a strange thing. Snape smiled at his expression. "A saber-toothed bunnybat." He explained. "Quite vicious." They looked at Voldemort just in time to see him give up on his tongue and began casting silently at the bunnybat. He hit it, and it froze for a moment before splitting into several more, while broadcasting a loud female voice, almost like a howler.

"TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE!" It shrieked. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING YOUNG MAN? TRESPASSING! A FELON! YOU BETTER RUN, BECAUSE IF I GET MY HANDS ON YOU…" The voice went on to give some rather creative threats about what would happen if he did not leave immediately. One of the surviving Death Eaters who was not too smart saw his boss in trouble and let several curses fly, which hit their targets, causing several bunnybats to freeze. Harry and Snape both covered their ears just in time.

"DIDN'T LEARN THE FIRST TIME EH?" Several voices shouted with a slight delay between them, almost like an echo. "NO WONDER! YOU DREADFUL DULLARDS, LAZY LAYABOUTS, USELESS DARK LORD WANNABES, MINDLESS MIDGETS, STUPID SNAKES! OUT! OUT I SAY!" The new bunnybats dive bombed the dark lord, and you could hardly see the feared Dark Lord, as he was surrounded by a flock of vicious saber-toothed bunnybats that were all biting him. The swarm swirled around him, biting furiously, and they could hear the inarticulate cries of pain from the center of the attack. The rustle of the wings alone filled the atrium with a loud rasping sound. Voldemort had had enough. He ran out the way he came in, passing stunned aurors who were having trouble understanding what they had just seen. Voldemort apparated away as soon as he passed the wards, leaving most of the bunnybats behind, which burst into dust, their mission fulfilled. Snape smiled, removing his hand from his ears, before brushing off the dust from his robe.

"Well that was interesting." He said brightly, in a very odd tone coming from the serious potions master. "I hope I looked confidant. That was terrifying." He slumped down onto a piece of nearby masonry and massaged his right arm, which he had thrown out tossing the ton-tongue toffee. "I had wanted to do that to Albus forever. What a mess." He sighed, echoing Harry's words from earlier as aurors flooded the room, followed by a nearly apoplectic Minister of Magic cowering in the back.


	2. Chapter 2

**Just a warning now, there will be Ron and Dumbledore bashing. Ron especially. I can't stand him. He is not very smart, is cowardly, hotheaded, short on patience, and is essentially a less violent Gryffindor version of Draco Malfoy with his prejudices. Oh, and some of the backstory here is not canon, but this is fanfiction, so I can do what I want. The inspiration of a two day trial comes from the story Snowpoint Academy, which I attempted to honor by mentioning its location (Antarctica) in this chapter. I read a few other good stories where Harry attends a different school. I will be honoring them by mentioning their name and locations, as well as acknowledging them and the influence they had on me at the end of the story. We are live in five, four, three, two, one… Cameras rolling. Here we go.**

 **(P.S.) Would love for someone to volunteer to be a beta.**

The Order of the Phoenix and the underage students stumped back to Grimmauld Place, in various stages of health. They entered the house before slumping down around the massive table. "Thank goodness term is almost over." Ron muttered. "I don't think I could go back to school after that." For once, Harry agreed with him. He did not remember anything, and had stumbled into a dangerous situation. He had just discovered he had a godfather before he lost him minutes later. After a traumatizing event like that, the last thing he wanted was to be forced to go to a school he knew nothing about, which was led by that crazy Headmaster.

Molly finally broke the silence. "I think we will need to get to cleaning the house soon. Sirius was many things, but a tidy person he was not." There were a few murmurs of agreement but no one seemed to want to actually get up and do anything as a somber air still hung over the house. The head of the Weasley family seemed determined not to let that stop her. She started pulling her kids up from their seats, one at a time while still chattering the whole way. "I'll start the lot of you off upstairs with some cleaner, and remember, no magic! That means you too Harry dear." She added as an aside as the raven haired boy had shown no inclination of rising to his feet.

He stayed firmly planted right where he was, glaring up at her. She recoiled from him momentarily, eyeing the levels of disgust in his eyes. He could not believe the nerve of this woman. "Really? My godfather's body is not even cold yet, and already you are taking over his house? And last I checked, I did not have red hair. That means you are not my mother, and as such, have no right to command me as you might one of your brood! Also, please refrain from phrases like honey, my boy, dear, or other such patronizing endearments. Those are for use by parents, of which you are not one of mine!"

A deafening silence filled the room as incredulous gazes landed on him. He was actually standing up to Molly and defying her? The twins started to slink towards the door, hoping to leave before Mt. Molly erupted. Snape cringed, pulling back into his seat and stuffing his ears with his cloak. This was not going to end well. The expected explosion was not long in coming.

"How dare you speak to me that way you ungrateful whelp! We have treated you like one of the family, and _THIS_ is how you repay us? With disrespect?" Harry rose to his feet in response to the name calling, placing himself and the Weasley matriarch on equal footing.

"Yes, I do dare! You have not responded to anything I said, instead sinking to juvenile insults!" He bellowed back, green eyes blazing with indignation. "You are not my parent or guardian, and as such have no authority over my actions. And why would you have them clean without magic? Hello, earth to mother Weasley, last I checked we were in a magical building. You know, like the ones that do not record underage magic? Fools, the lot of you."

Albus also stood up and opened his mouth. "My de-" He had a wand in his face as Harry stormed over to him.

"Listen well you old codger." Harry snarled. "You stay out of this. This is between me and _her_." He said in a disdainful tone of voice as he made a dismissive hand gesture towards the dumpy woman. "And if you ever call me your dear boy again, I will stuff your beard down your throat myself!"

A shrieked cry of "HARRY!" echoed through the room as Molly raced up to him and pulled her hand back. SLAP! "How dare you talk to the Headmaster that way?"

Harry snapped his head to face her, with a red mark on the side of his cheek as he roared in anger. "Do that again and I will not be so generous next time." He blasted her with a overpowered stunning hex, sending her crashing into the table. Several occupants winced as they heard the snap of bone. Harry shoved the Headmaster back into his seat before spinning to face the table full of stunned inhabitants that had not dared to move.

"And that goes for the rest of you as well!" He yelled, his voice echoing through the halls of Grimmauld. "Leave me alone!" He slipped his wand back into his pocket before turning to leave the room. He was almost to the doors before Dumbledore called after him.

"I am afraid I must ask for your wand my bo- I mean, Mr. Potter. You are unsafe with it right now." Harry ignored him until he wrenched open the door, walking part way out before sticking his head back in.

"Like hell." Then he slammed the door behind him so loudly everyone flinched. After a few seconds, people started to uncurl themselves from the balls they had curled up into to try to protect themselves.

"Wow." That statement about summed it up, as the room burst into a hubbub of questions and indignation as everyone rose to their feet and surged in the direction of Albus. Someone revived Molly, and her screams of pain only added to the crescendo of noise that was building.

' _Time to leave.'_ Snape decided. _'Best to leave while the going is okay.'_ He pushed his way through the crowd to Albus, grabbing his sleeve and leaning in close. "I need to go!" He yelled over the noise, gesturing to his forearm. It was the most convincing excuse he could think of in a hurry. Albus' eyes widened as he nodded.

"Good luck then my boy. Stay safe Severus." As Snape hurriedly left the room, he snarled inwardly. He so badly wanted to yell at Dumbledore about his use of patronizing names as well. Once in the entrance hall he hesitated. He so badly wanted to get out of here. But on the other hand, something had seemed off with Potter… He heaved an exaggerated sigh as he made up his mind.

"Curse my soft heart." He muttered, spinning on his heel and beginning to search for Harry.

After a little while, he found him holed up in a room on the upper levels of the house. He leaned against the doorway as he looked inside. Harry was seated on the edge of the bed, head buried in his hands. He glanced up and saw the potions master standing there. "Go away Severus." He muttered halfheartedly.

"Do you really want that? I for one applaud you for what you said. You have no idea how many people have wanted to see Molly taken down a notch or two for _years._ " He smiled. Not a smirk, a genuine smile. "Me included."

"Really?" Harry asked tentatively.

"Really. A lot of people think she goes too far a lot, she is really good at being overbearing. Don't you remember feeling that way yourself?" Snape's eyebrows drew together into a thin line. Something was off about Potter.

"No." Harry grumbled grudgingly.

"Why not?" Snape asked curiously.

"Because I don't remember! I know almost nothing! I don't even know… know who I am." With that he broke down, sobbing as he curled into a ball and turned to face the wall.

Snape stood silent for a moment. ' _Potter did not remember? Not anything?'_ Severus thoughts raced. ' _But I made sure he didn't get hit by anything except that brief unforgivable from Bellatrix, and he was not under long enough to go crazy. Besides, he isn't mad, just lost his memories. There is a difference.'_ He swallowed uncomfortably. Without his memories, he couldn't act cold towards the boy over actions he knew nothing about. Even he drew the line somewhere. He briefly entertained the idea the boy had been lying, but quickly dismissed the idea. Potter was a horrible liar, and Snap had not detected any falsehood from Potter. That meant he got to play the role of nanny. How fun. Well, by nature of his position, he owed it his best shot.

Severus sat down on the edge of the bed, keeping some distance between them. This was not the first time he had comforted a child. Slytherins may project this strong exterior, but they had the same problems any ordinary kid would. "You were Harry Potter, child of Lily and Prongs, godson of the ironically named Sirius Black. Now? You are still Harry Potter, but the rest? With no memories, your future is up to you. Just think about that."

He just sat there quietly, knowing saying nothing and providing silent support was the best he could do. After a little while, the sobbing died down a little bit. "Could you tell me about who I was?" He asked Snape in a small voice. Snape winced as he heard it. Even the spoiled and entitled tone of the boy was better than that. The sickening amount of hope, trust, and need in his voice disgusted the greasy haired man. Ah well. There was nothing else for it.

"Of course." Severus said quickly. Originally, he did not like the boy. Even with his promise to Lily, he could not get how the boy looked like the spitting image of James Potter out of his head. Now, however, he was crushed and almost broken. He somehow had lost his memories. Snape's heart leaped. With no poor memories of the Potions professor, he would not instantly disbelieve anything he might say. This was his chance. A chance to start redeeming himself, both for him and for Lily. "Now, if memory serves, back in your first year…"

(Line break)

Snape slowly started to spend more time staying around Harry, constantly telling him stories for hours on end. The subject of discussion ranged from what Harry had done before he lost his memories, to stories about the Marauders. (Though Harry could see this clearly pained Snape, and quickly stopped asking for them.) He even worked on sharpening his skills and testing to see which spells he was still able to cast. The Potions Master's concern over this was unfounded, as Harry seemed to instinctively remember anything he previously earned. The conversation would stretch on for most of the day. The hours of discussion turned into days, days into weeks, and weeks into months, until it was almost time for Hogwarts to start up again.

(Line break)

"Hello Minerva. Lemon drop?" The ubiquitous headmaster asked, holding out one of the sweets he routinely handed out to those in his office. While not on the level of Arthur Weasley, who lived and breathed all things muggle, Dumbledore had developed a fondness for muggle sweets. In no small part was this because he did not risk eating an unsavory jelly bean and he knew what he was getting.

"No, thank you Albus. You wanted to see me?" McGonagall asked briskly. She had other things to worry about, she did not need to be sucked away from her job by some inconsequential happening.

The headmaster sighed and popped the candy into his mouth, eating it before answering. "Yes. It has come to my attention that Mr. Potter has not been in the best condition since the tragic death of his godfather."

McGonagall snorted, crossing her arms. "Hardly a surprise there. You try losing someone who was essentially the only family you've ever known."

"What about the Dursleys? I have no doubt they are taking good care of him."

"Good care of him? If your definition of good care involves getting beaten, starved, and locked in a cupboard then he must be in perfect shape." The Deputy Headmistress stood up and began to pace, her face downcast and her features stern. "I know you have seen the reports from Poppy. Every year Albus, _every year_ , she checks him because something went wrong in the school and he got hurt, and year in and year out, it is always the same. There is evidence of abuse, bruises, broken bones, he even has scars across his back from where he was whipped! Have you seen him Headmaster? Every year, he leaves the school confidant and happy. Every year, he returns with his spirit crushed, emaciated, and afraid. He shies away whenever anyone even tries to touch him. He is uncomfortable with the smallest of compliments. We both know he is getting mistreated there, and inexplicably, you have done nothing to stop it! You have all those fancy schmancy detectors on that shelf!" She waved a hand in the direction of the spinning silver instruments. "That monitor anything and everything in that house. All the rooms have listening charms on them to boot as well. Every time he was hit, verbally assaulted, every time when he whimpered in pain and asked for help from someone, _anyone,_ you heard and you knew. And you did nothing. This has to stop." She finished, her voice rising in volume.

Dumbledore winced at the noise. This could be a long and painful conversation, and he was already getting a headache. He waved his hands placatingly at her, unused to her showing her displeasure at him. "Calm down, I will do something about it. Trust me." She snorted at that. "In fact, that ties into what I wanted to talk to you. Please take a seat, you are going to wear a hole in the carpet." He said mildly.

McGonagall breathed deeply, getting herself under control before reluctantly taking a seat. "I am aware of the problems. But he needs the protection of the wards there until now, and he is perfectly capable of handling it himself. But I would like him to stay in Hogwarts for the next summer, as well as the holidays. It is simply too dangerous in the outside world for him now. The battle with Voldemort looms, and he needs to be ready. To that end I have decided to alter his schedule somewhat. I will have him drop all the courses but Charms and DADA, and have him stop quidditch."

McGonagall raised an eyebrow. "And on what authority are you planning on doing that? For one thing, I believe in a well-rounded education, which he cannot receive if he does that."

Dumbledore waved a hand dismissively. "He doesn't need those. He just needs to know how to beat Voldemort. Quidditch is just a distraction and he needs all the training he can get."

"And what about post-graduation? He may be the boy-who-lived, and the defeater of Voldemort, but he needs to have his N.E.W.T.S to get a job. Also, every person needs an outlet and a hobby, and for Harry that is quidditch." McGonagall's eyebrows drew together in incomprehension, this did not sound like the Albus Dumbledore she knew.

"Wizarding Britain is more important than Harry continuing to take the other courses." Albus stated, rising to his feet. "Everything else is unnecessary. It is regrettable, but it is for the Greater Good."

McGonagall shook her head sadly. "The Greater Good. The ambiguous term that has been responsible for more casualties than any other, in the magical or muggle worlds. I was afraid of this. You just see Harry as a weapon. No, I won't allow it." Her tone was final, brooking no argument.

"But quidditch serves no purpose for-" he tried, before being cut off.

"And explain to me, Albus, _why_ you want me to ban Mr. Potter from the quidditch team. I will not make something up to stop him. You have yet to give me a good reason." She started to pant as she talked over him, out of breath. She sighed and sank back in her chair, her arms gripping the chair arms so tightly Dumbledore was afraid she would break it. "I can't, won't, do anything to alienate him. I already lost Mr. Longbottom. I cannot afford to let another of my lions be driven away through my mistakes." McGonagall looked away from Dumbledore in a huff.

Dumbledore leaned forward, interested, eyes twinkling. "Mr. Longbottom? What happened?"

"I just got the letter Albus. He is withdrawing from Hogwarts and attending school elsewhere. He cited several reasons, including his worry about the school's safety, his unhappiness with the current subjects, his desire to prove himself to his aunt, and not least among them, the refusal of the staff to do anything to stop the bullying that happened to him for years as we all ignored his plight." She again rose to her feet and resumed pacing. "Dumbledore, you gave the orders to ignore the problems caused by the Slytherins. You are handicapping the rest of the school who attempt to defend themselves and get in trouble for it. What do you think is going to happen when word get out? And make no mistake, it always gets out in the end." Her voice dropped even lower. "We will be besieged with howlers, parents will withdraw their children, and some, or all, of us will likely be sacked over this! We also have another problem. I checked with Augusta Longbottom, and she never signed the form that withdrew Neville. She has no idea where he is! He has vanished. But I digress. Back to the original point, no, I will not ban him from playing."

"Minnie, why is this so hard-" He groaned.

"No. Either give me a good reason, or you can do it yourself." Minerva stated sternly looking away.

Dumbledore sank back into his chair, suddenly looking every bit his age. He rubbed his face with one hand tiredly. "Fine. You know the prophecy right?" He asked in a weary tone of voice.

McGonagall frowned. "Yes, you told me after you first heard it in case something went wrong. What does that have to do with anything?"

"The prophecy says neither can live while the other survives. Harry has a horcrux in his scar on his head. A poorly made and accidental one yes, but a horcrux nonetheless. For the prophecy to come true, Harry needs to die. But he also needs to be good enough to beat Voldemort at the same time. So I am going to take away the extracurricular things so he can concentrate on training. It is quite simple." He said resignedly, already bracing himself for the outrage that was sure to explode from his deputy.

At this point the listeners heard a quiet squawk of shock from something outside the window. McGonagall rushed to the window and caught sight of a bird winging its way into the night. "It's Snape!" Her cry of surprise echoed around the room as she recognized the animagus. Dumbledore also ran to the window and began casting curses and spells after the raven, hoping to disable or kill it before it got away. The black bird managed to dodge most of them, but did take a few hits as Severus landed and became a man again outside the anti-apparition wards. He vanished in a loud crack as a brightly colored light slammed into the ground he had occupied moments before.

Minerva wheeled on Dumbledore. "Why did you attack him?" She screeched angrily.

"He can't know that, he could take it to Voldemort-"

McGonagall pounced on that, sensing an opening and a chance to get some answers. "Aha! You mean, you don't trust him implicitly? You don't trust him, after all the complaints that have come your way? And that was reason to try to kill the man?"

"Minerva, this is not the time for-" The Headmaster tried before being cut off.

"It's the perfect time! You need to explain yourself right now!" She shrieked, hands on her hips.

The Headmaster sighed. "Not now Minerva. I need to catch him before he gets too far."

"After you illegally assaulted a faculty member and tried to kill him? What were you thinking?"

"I am afraid of him going after Harry Minerva." Dumbledore brushed past her and walked to the door before turning. "Come or not, I don't care. I need to go grab some Order members and check on Harry. Fawkes!" He grabbed hold of the phoenix who quickly vanished in a flash of fire.

(line break)

Months later, with Snape having vanished from magical society, and being hunted by the Order…

(Line break)

Harry was bored, there were no two ways about it. He had been stuck here on his own for a long time now, and had not been allowed to do anything interesting. He had been kept out of all Order meetings, and had not been let out of the house. In fact, they were so strict that they often had someone nearby, likely to keep an eye on him. He blamed Dumbledore for this. Every time he attempted to talk with Hermione or Ron, they would look uncomfortable and mumble something about not being allowed to talk to him before rushing away in embarrassment. He was no genius, but he was smart enough to realize that this was exactly the same thing that had apparently happened the previous summer, where on Dumbledore's orders, he had been cut off from the outside world. He growled in resentment. The only person who had dared to strike out against Dumbledore was Snape. The greasy haired man had ignored Dumbledore, and constantly visited Harry, teaching him and telling him stories about his life. Or, at least, he had, before the Order had declared open season on the man. Harry hadn't seen him in over a month and a half.

For years, apparently, he had supposedly been convinced that the headmaster knew best. After all, he was the leader of the Light, defeater of Grindelwald, and holder of half a dozen other titles. But now, after hearing about and recognizing some of his more questionable decisions, he was no longer so sure. Slowly, during his enforced isolation, his mental image of Dumbledore grew steadily more tarnished. Even without his old memories, he knew what Dumbledore was doing was wrong. From what he heard from the others, he had always followed the headmaster without question. How? He shook his head and pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes as he tried to get back on track. He had to take his mind off of things. For the umpteenth time, he attempted to read through his upcoming coursework, but found his mind drifting almost instantly. He blinked and realized he had just re-read the same line for the seventh time. He slammed the book down in a huff, and crossed his arms. He may be acting a little childish, but he had a right to! He had watched his only family, his godfather, die in front of him, and had been essentially cut off from any and all people who might assist him in some way. He still struggled with the guilt and sorrow that he had been wallowing in since Sirius' death, and he couldn't take it any longer. Mind made up, he stood to his feet and grabbed his invisibility cloak. He was going to Diagon Alley, to hell with the consequences.

Now that he thought about it, there was definitely a way to catch up with the news of the wizarding world. All he had to do was play the interested 'Boy who lived' card, and surely someone would tell him what he wished to know. Finally, that useless title would actually be helpful, for the first time ever.

He donned the cloak and cautiously stalked forward and poked his head into the hall. He spotted Tonks lingering about halfway across, glancing around causally as she pretended to be interested in a copy of the Daily Prophet. He snuck past her, careful to not make any sound that might result in her auror training kicking in. He smiled triumphantly as he made it past her, the joy of adventure starting to stir him from the depths of his self-imposed lethargy. He placed his hand on the door and had started to stealthily open it when a hand closed on the back of his cloak and yanked it off him, spinning him around to face a gnarled visage. "Potter." Moody growled, his electric blue magical eye spinning around furiously in its socket. "Thought you might try something like this. Guess Dumbledore was right in posting a guard to keep you inside. What are you thinking?"

Harry stood tall in the face of his discovery, indignation fueling his responses. "Dumbledore was right? What was I thinking?" His voice rose higher with every word until he was almost shrieking. "I was _trying_ to get some information and see what was going on in the world, as no one here seems willing to! And what gives Dumbledore the right to confine me here? This is not his house, nor is he my guardian! Under what authority are you trying to stop me?" He cried, all his anger and resentment swelling to the surface in a huge wave, sweeping away his ordinary good sense.

Moody's hand gripped his shoulder tightly. "For your own good Potter, since you do not seem to have the sense to do it yourself, which can cost people's lives!" Harry flinched violently before starting to shake in rage at the low blow.

"For my own good? And who is he to determine that? And how dare you accuse me of being the source of Sirius' death! I do share part of the blame, yet all of you deserve at least as much as me, because you handicapped me by refusing to tell me anything! This is the last straw! I am going to Diagon Alley, and you can't stop me." He grabbed Moody's hand and wrenched it off his shoulder before rudely brushing by the old ex-auror on his way to the door. He walked a few steps before he heard a shouted spell from behind him.

"Perfectus Totalis!" The body bind cursed hit Harry and he fell to the ground, stiff as a board. Moody turned him over with his foot as Harry stared back up at him with fear-filled eyes. "Sorry, no can do. We were told to keep you here by whatever means necessary. Unfortunately, you cannot remember this, so… Obliviate."

"PROTEGO!" Someone roared from across the room, as a shield snapped into place in front of Harry, blocking the spell. Harry desperately tried to wriggle onto his side to see his rescuer, but was unsuccessful. Moody whirled, but too late. Severus Snape came racing across the room, spells and curses issuing from his wand in a constant stream so fast that it was hard to tell where one ended and the next began. More than a few were clearly dark magic as Snape pulled out all the stops to take Moody down. Finally, he cast a bludgeoning hex before his right arm swung forward in a devastating right hook to Moody's nose. Moody, distracted by blocking the stream of spells, was caught unawares for a moment to long. He tried to duck but was unable to dodge quickly enough. As his nose crunched inward and blood spurted out, his blue magic eye also popped out due to the force. Snape quickly stunned and bound him before releasing Harry. He bent over and picked up the magic eye before hurling it deep into the depths of the house before turning to look at Harry. "Are you alright Potter?" He asked, with no trace of his usual sneer present, his eyes set like chips of black stone in his fury.

Harry nodded, still surprised that Snape of all people had interfered. He had heard horror stories about the man's classes. He glanced towards where Tonks had been and was startled to see she was gone. He looked at Snape with a furrowed brow. "Yes, I think so. But what about…" He trailed off, flapping his hand towards where Tonks had been. The potions master cocked his eyebrow.

"Mr. Potter, did you somehow forget that I am a potions master and completely qualified to make polyjuice?" This time the sarcasm in his voice was palpable. Harry wisely made no answer and looked away. Snape nodded in satisfaction before beginning to speak again. "Mr. Potter, could you come with me for a moment?" Snape intoned solemnly, getting himself under control with a hint of desperation in his voice this time. Harry slowly looked back at the man and cast a suspicious glance at the potions teacher. Despite his help at the Department of Mysteries fiasco, and him standing up to Voldemort, as well as his companionship and defiance of Dumbledore, Harry trusted the man more than he used to, but still harbored a wariness around the man. Snape was not looking well, now that he took the time to examine him. He had bags under his eyes, his usually plastered and greasy hair was in disarray, and he was glancing around nervously. He also had a few cuts and tears in his robes, and his left arm was bleeding. "Now Potter, curse you. We need to go to Gringotts _now._ " He hissed, lowering his voice so it would not echo through the halls of Grimmuald place.

"Why?" Asked Harry slowly, eyeing the man. Snape was almost dancing with impatience at this point.

"Betrayal, boy, that's why. Did you somehow miss where they assaulted you and tried to modify your memory? They will be here any moment. We have to get to Gringotts, now! Grab anything of value, we leave in two minutes." The import of the situation having finally gotten through, Harry fled upstairs and feverishly packed all his most important belongings. He was back in a minute and a half. They heard several cracks downstairs and froze. "They're here." Snape whispered in dread, thinking quickly. "Grab my arm." They quickly apparated away, and not a moment too soon, as the door was knocked down by a concussive hex not ten seconds later, with uniformed wizards storming the room with wands out.

Harry and Snape reappeared in the middle of Diagon alley. Harry, still not used to apparition, stumbled and fell down. Snape grabbed him and half dragged him along until Harry regained his feet as they ran towards the goblin bank. Again, several cracks behind them signaled the arrival of their pursuers as they threaded through several dumbfounded witches and wizards. Harry had to dodge a particularly large around the middle wizard who was wearing lurid yellow robes that seared the retinas. The color was so bright he could not even look at the man's face. Being cooped up in a house for a whole summer does wonders for reducing the physical conditions of most wizards, and Harry was no exception. He was gasping for air as they neared the front façade of Gringotts and ran past the goblin guards at the doors. Snape dashed over to the nearest teller and pulled out a piece of paper with a fancy seal at the bottom, showing it to the goblin. "Get me Director Ragnok, right now." The goblin read the note and paled before bouncing to his feet, knocking a few gems and coins off of his desk with no regard for the loss. He hurried into one of the passages that honeycombed the bank. He was back quickly with Ragnok, who motioned for the two to follow him through a door in the wall of the bank before leading them into a cart. The journey was wild and twisting, and Snape looked close to throwing up by the end of it. Apparently he was not a fan of roller coasters. Ragnok quickly dragged them into the Potter Vault and instructed them to wait here for him. He quickly made his way back to the cart and emerged into the front lobby of the bank just in time to greet the couple dozen wizards that burst through the front doors.

"Dumbledore." Ragnok said coldly, leaning on a nearby teller's booth casually while glaring angrily at the armed wizards. He made a hand signal behind his back and his subordinate hurried to gather all the guards, as Ragnok sensed he would not get out of this confrontation without a fight.

"Where is he?" The Headmaster ground out through clenched teeth, the twinkling in his eyes completely gone, replaced by what could have passed for slivers of blue ice. He was furious. Snape had somehow penetrated the wards around Grimmuald place and convinced Harry to flee. This needed to be rectified immediately.

"Where is who?" Ragnok donned an expression of polite curiosity and ignorance as he said this, glancing down at his perfectly manicured nails. Dumbledore's vaults were not so massive that he was one of the customers that Gringotts paid special attention to, and as such, the brusque manner of the visitor was intolerable.

"Don't play games with me goblin. I demand that you bring your director to me and give me the boy." Dumbledore demanded, to lots of head bobbing from his followers. The old wizard was normally more polite and courteous than this, but anger overrode his instincts.

Ragnok slowly straightened up to his full height and a fire came into his eye as every goblin in the bank began to growl and slowly unsheathe their weapons. "Two things, wizard." He spat the term in derision, flicking a hand towards Dumbledore and performing some kind of hand motion that was clearly a goblin insult. It was as juvenile as the director would ever allow himself to be in public. "Actually, three. First, you still have not named this so-called 'boy' you are looking for, so even if we were inclined to help, we could not. Second, one does not order a goblin around. Third and finally, I am Director Ragnok. One more insult of any kind and I cannot guarantee your safety from my warriors. One more insult of that magnitude of ordering any of us around and you will be thrown out and your account frozen." He stated coldly. Everyone within earshot shivered as they felt the bloodlust in his voice as he lay down the law.

"Do you know who I am?" Dumbledore rang out in challenge. He could not belive the goblin was stalling! They needed to recover Harry, and fast. He had no time for this.

"Unfortunately, yes, but I also do not care. How about you try again. Start by being polite and detailing who you are looking for. Begin at the beginning, then go on until you reach the end, and then stop. Then, and only then, will I deign to _consider_ your _request._ " Ragnok smiled savagely, his red enameled teeth gleaming blood red in the light.

Dumbledore subtly reached for his wand in one of his flowing sleeves and instantly every goblin in the bank had their weapons out and pointing at him. "That would be the last mistake you ever make wizard." Ragnok growled. "You would be dead before you cast your first spell. You have thirty seconds to make your case before I throw you out."

"But-"

"Twenty-five seconds." Ragnok stated firmly.

Dumbledore sighed, seeming to crumble back in on himself. "I am coming to rescue Harry Potter from Severus Snape, who has kidnapped him."

Ragnok snorted in amusement. It was always funny to him when a wizard would attempt to twist the truth when they were so clearly in the wrong. "Liar. They both came to me to beg sanctuary, as you were attempting to capture them. Unfortunately, we are not a political organization and were forced to turn them away." Dumbledore started to smile at this news. "Luckily-" His smile froze. Ragnok grinned savagely, his eyes colder than the depths of hell. "He is currently counting his money in his vault. As long as he pays his fees, we do not impose a time limit on a customer being in their vault. We also bring complimentary food to valued customers, of which he is one. And no one is allowed to interfere within Gringotts. Sadly I have no idea when they wish to come out." He said, in a mock sorrowful tone. "So sorry to disappoint. And they were just starting to tell me such an interesting story about you. Imagine that."

Dumbledore drew himself up, fury shining in his eyes. "See here-"

"No, _you_ see wizard." Ragnok growled back, cutting him off. "They are out of your reach now. And if I have anything to say about it, the son of a goblin-friend will never be turned away from Gringotts while _I_ am in charge. Now I think you had better leave, before someone on your side does something stupid." He finished smugly, eyeing the motley crew following Dumbledore.

Sure enough, the wizards backing Dumbledore had grown surly and angry. All it would take would be a simple lumos charm and a fight would break out. The atmosphere grew considerably more tensed as a Mexican standoff ensued between the wizards and the goblins. Molly Weasley stepped forward to try and defuse the situation, as Dumbledore had brought all the Weasleys with him to help persuade Harry.

"I apologize Director, but surely you can see Harry would be better with us than Snape?" She asked tearfully.

Ragnok stood firm. "I do not appreciate the condescension at all, and no, I cannot see that."

At this point Ron stepped forward, brushing off the grasping arms and whispered warnings from the others. "Oh come on. Harry belongs with us, not with some greasy haired git."

Ragnok had fires of rage in his eyes by now, though anyone who knew him well would have seen the glimmer of amusement hidden behind the fake emotion. He was having the time of his life tearing down the wizards publicly, and he had justifiable reasons to do so. "Mr. Snape is a valued customer here, and I believe that I already warned you about anymore insults. You **will** leave now. Guards, if they resist, use force."

The goblins all lowered their pikes and seemed to be seeking an excuse to use it as the wizards were forced towards the exit. Ron did not budge though. "How dare you!"

"HOW DARE I? HOW DARE YOU!" Ragnok thundered, cutting a fine figure in his armor as he drew his axe. "Leave now before we send you into the street in pieces!"

Ron shoved a goblin aside that tried to make him leave. "Stupefy!" He foolishly yelled, aiming the spell at the goblin. Instantly, he was hit by several spells as he went flying back into the double doors, unconscious. The red spell simply bounced off the air in front of the Director and slammed into the ceiling. There was a shocked silence as everyone understood what he had done.

"Attack!" Roared Ragnok and the goblins charged forward. The wizards, horrified at this turn of events, attempted to fire off spells to protect themselves, making the goblins even more enraged. Unfortunately for the wizards, ever since the encounter started, Ragnok had been stalling. Goblin magic, while powerful, was slow, and took a while to take effect. The spell that had been used basically twisted all non-goblin magic. It would negate them, change the spell, have the spell change direction, or explode in the caster's face. While powerful, it could only be used for a short time on a limited area. Gringotts was just such a limited area. Soon, a massive brawl was joined throughout the bank as more security goblins flooded the room to help fight. Not that it was needed. It wasn't really a fight, more like a massacre. With their magic not working, or even worse, hurting their own side, no wizard was really able to fight back against weapons held by the very fit goblins. In short order, all of them were unconscious and badly beaten up with the exception of Dumbledore who had drawn the Elder wand and was surrounded by a thick ring of goblins. "Drop it or die wizard." Ragnok growled. "On second thought, don't drop it. I would love an excuse to kill you." Dumbledore hesitated before slipping his wand back into his sleeve.

Ragnok grimaced in disappointment. "A pity." He turned to one of his subordinates. "Escort them to the ministry and lock them all up and press full charges." He motioned to a younger goblin. "Get me Rita Skeeter; tell her she has a huge exclusive, about Dumbledore attacking goblins on goblin soil. If that doesn't get her here, nothing will. Oh, and freeze and drain the accounts of every witch and wizard here, including Dumbledore. _Especially_ Dumbledore." then left, trusting the other goblins to make the wizards pay for the debacle. He slowly retreated back to the Potter vault where his guests were waiting for him, tensed at the sound of battle.

He pulled up a chair and sat down, facing his two visitors. "Well that was fun. I have wanted to do that for decades!" The tension broke at that, and Snape and Harry laughed fitfully. Ragnok rubbed his hands together eagerly. "Now, I may be no magician, but I do not think that you, Mr. Snape, were able to communicate to Mr. Potter here the reason for the urgency in which you left. In light of that, before we can continue, I recommend we bring a pensieve here so we can see the memory in question. Is that alright?" They both nodded and he sent a goblin running to get one.

The pensieve in question was noticeable different from any Harry had seen before. This was a tetragonal shape, with a flat bottom with runes carved into the sides. "Ready?" Snape asked. There was a pair of nodding heads. "Before I start allow me to give a little background. I made a promise to Lily Evans before she died, to protect Harry. I also have developed a habit recently of noticing when Dumbledore and Minnie leave the hall to go have a conversation. My animagus form happens to be a raven. I tend to transform and then listen from the window. I learned some interesting things today." He touched his wand to his temple before drawing the strand of memory out and placing it in the basin.

They quickly finished watching the memory then the watchers were returned to their bodies as they sat there for a moment, too stunned to say anything, except for Snape. He stood up, clenching his fist. "I promised Lily." He said in a strained tone of voice. "And I'll be damned if some twinkle eyed twit like Albus is going to make me break it. I hope you understand now, Potter, why I rushed you away." Harry nodded slowly, still attempting to process the information. Sure, he had thought something was wrong during the summers, and the behavior of the man in the DOM had been deplorable, which had resulted in a lessening of trust in the old man, but this…

He raised a hand. "Um, is it a problem that I cannot remember anything prior to the DOM? It was like I just woke up there and only knew my name." Ragnok and Snape exchanged concerned glances with each other.

"More than likely, someone has tampered with your memories Mr. Potter. Would you like to see if Mr. Snape can break the blocks?"

"Why not?"

Snape sat down in front of him. "Please be sure not to resist me, as that will cause pain. Understood?" At his nod Snape began. "Legilimens." He locked eyes with Harry for several seconds before suddenly flying backwards out of his chair, slamming into the opposite wall before crumpling to the ground, writhing in pain.

"Mr. Snape!" Ragnok cried in alarm, lunging out of his chair and trying to help the potions master back to his feet as armed goblins burst through the door of the vault. Snape waved him off as Ragnok dismissed the guards, gingerly climbing back to his feet as he gathered his thoughts.

"That is the strongest block I have ever seen." He said in an awestruck voice. He had never even heard of a block so powerful it would evict you upon contact. "Just touching it expelled me from his mind. Painfully." Upon seeing the worried expression on Harry's face he smiled. "Not to worry, look at it this way. You get to start fresh, with no previous loyalties. You can be who you want to be. Who knows, maybe they will come back over time. But there is nothing I can do for you right now."

Ragnok clapped his hands together sharply, making Snape and Harry jump. "Well then. I think we have determined that it would be in your best interests not to return to Hogwarts. From what Snape has told me of your summers, it seems very few of them are good friends. Longbottom and Lovegood, along with the Weasley twins, were the only ones who attempted to take action. They sent you letters and tried to get you out of your house but were foiled. So really, I do not see that you have many strong ties to that school. I think the first order of business is to get the rest of your things, I doubt you were able to get them all before you fled."

"No, I didn't, but if I leave Dumbledore will try to get me. I don't suppose you can provide an escort or something Director?" Harry asked hopefully.

"Well Mr. Potter, unfortunately we are only a bank." The Director said in a mock mournful tone. "However, we could send some goblins to help protect you and your cargo if you declared an intention of retrieving something, be it so little as one knut, to put in the bank, thereby making it Gringotts business. Will that be acceptable?"

"Yes Director Ragnok; and thank you." Harry said gratefully. He was beginning to appreciate the goblins even more. Any race that was so fond of loopholes and technicalities was alright with him.

"Not a problem, always glad to assist, especially for anyone related to Lily Evans. She constantly fought for Goblin rights, and for that we shall be thankful forever. Go get your things, and when you return we shall talk more." Ragnok called for some of his subordinates. He gave them some brief instructions and handed Harry a two way goblin-made portkey.

He and the goblin escort appeared just outside No. 12 Grimmuald Place, and immediately entered the building. Remus was sitting at the table reading the Daily Prophet and he jumped up in surprise when he saw him. "Harry! Thank goodness you are alright." He rushed forward, but was halted at goblin sword and spear point. He glanced warily at Harry, his werewolf instincts screaming at him. "Harry? What are the goblins doing here?"

Harry smiled grimly. He was in no mood for games. "Move aside Remus. I am here to get my things. If you attempt to interfere, the goblins will stop you."

Remus had a very confused look on his face. "What do the goblins have to do with Severus Snape kidnapping you? And why are you getting your things? School hasn't started yet."

"First off, Snape did not kidnap me. I left of my own free will, and he told me some _very_ fascinating things about the so-called 'Leader of the Light'. I am getting my things under guard because none of us would put it past Dumbledore to try and snatch me, whether I want it or not. As for school-" Harry shrugged. "Maybe I will pull a Weasley and not return to school. All I know is I have serious doubts about this war. Now if you will excuse me." He marched up the steps, followed by half of the goblins, the others remaining behind to keep an eye on the werewolf. With his help he quickly packed everything he had been unable to grab on his first escape before exiting the house with his escort in tow. Remus made no attempt to stop him, clearly still wondering what was going on. The goblins and Harry entered the street only to meet with several wand tips from a few Order members who had not gone with Dumbledore, led by Mad-eye Moody, who had evidently recovered from his utter embarrassment at the hands of Snape.

The leader of the goblins sighed. "I was afraid o' this." He muttered. He turned to Harry. "Let me handle this laddie." He stepped forward, facing the wizards. "What is it?" He snapped. "You are interfering with official Gringotts business.

"Free Potter before we make you." Moody growled, his already savaged face creasing in frustration.

By means of an answer the Scottish goblin searched his pockets before pulling out what looked like a small remote, with a big red button in the middle. "See this?" He waved it in front of the wizard's nose. "This gets destroyed, or I press this button, you top-dwellers will feel like the world 'as ended. The goblins will take your action as a declaration of war, and unlike you, we just so 'appen ta have a standing army. We will also foreclose on all loans, arrest all clients currently doing business in Gringotts, freeze and confiscate all the accounts in both branches of Gringotts, and recall all the Galleons in circulation in Wizarding Britain." The faces of the wizards standing in their way grew steadily paler as the goblin described economic ruin for Britain. "That is what will happen if you don't back off RIGHT NOW." He bellowed at the Order members.

The wizards exchanged unsure glances with each other. No one was exactly sure what had gone down at Gringotts, and they had no standing orders from above, they had simply been told Potter had been kidnapped, and they had taken it upon themselves to be his rescuers. The goblins, seeing the uncertainty, charged forward, yelling at the top of their lungs in a Braveheart style charge. The wizards, having not been paying attention to them, stumbled back instinctively, bracing for an impact that never came. That rush forward had carried them past the wards, and the portkey activated, whisking them off to Gringotts.

After Harry had returned safely, and had recovered from his fright, Ragnok had a meal brought out. "Now that you have your stuff, down to business. Clearly you cannot return to Hogwarts. I recommend we look at some other schools, as there is still time to enroll you. I would suggest it be a great distance from here, so as to be out of reach of Dumbledore. I have here some brochures and information on the schools that are not in Europe but speak English. Look through them and see if any of them catch your interest." Harry leafed through them. There were several schools in the United States, (Great Lakes School of Magic, Tecumseh, Salem, etc.) one in Canada (The Maple Leaf School of Magic) one in Peru (In Machu Picchu), two in Africa, one in Antarctica (Snow point Academy), one in Bulgaria (Durmstrang), Seekers Academy (No one happened to actually know where it was) and one in Australia. That last one caught his interest. He checked the back for a list of the courses that they taught. The list continued off the bottom of the page. Harry unfolded in further and the list unraveled, falling to the floor. Harry looked at the courses listed and let out a whistle.

"Wow." He murmured. "How many things does this place teach?" Ragnok examined the list, doing some quick calculations in his head.

"A little over two hundred, though I expect many of them are highly specialized courses." Satisfied, Harry returned to reading the course options. It was the only school on the list to teach both Necromancy and Blood magic. He had heard of the Uluru Academy before. It was one of the flagship schools, constantly one of the best in the world. The downside was the attitude of the school. Apparently every one of the applicants had two days to make an over two hundred mile journey from Alice Springs to the school in two days. They were given a compass small enough to hang on a necklace that would always point to the school. Usually only a fourth of the applicants actually made it to the school. Of the ones who failed, very few made it back to civilization to try a second time. Then, the entire first year, the less desirable students were weeded out, as fight and duels were encouraged (but not killing). After that, it settled down, the school not wanting to waste their teaching. Anyone who survived the first year was home free, assuming they did not get caught in an 'accident'.

"This one." Harry said, tapping it with his fingers.

Snape read the information and frowned. "Why that one? Would we do if you died?"

"I won't fail. That and the blood magic and necromancy could be crucial to defeating Voldemort."

"But-"

"Let the boy decide." Ragnok proclaimed loudly, leaning back in his small chair and crossing his arms. "If we try to dictate his choices we are no better than Dumbledore. If you want to go through with this, we need to get you to leave soon. I am doing my best to stall him, but Dumbledore will post bail somehow and get out of jail. It would be better if we got you out of the country pronto. Actually, if you could take another official name you could hide behind that would be great." His eyebrows creased, thinking of possible choices.

Harry frowned. "Another name?"

Ragnok sighed in impatience. "Yes. If you officially take another name you can use said name on legal documents and such. Think of it as an official nickname. An example is Narcissa Malfoy. She is officially Narcissa Malfoy-nee Black, she is just referred to by her new name as a member of the Malfoy family. Clear?"

"Um…. I can't really think of any right now." Harry said hesitantly, expecting a sarcastic comment from either Snape or Ragnok.

"Meh." Ragnok waved a hand dismissively. "I can just draw a random first and last name out of this hat-" He pointed at a fedora that Snape and Harry were sure had not been there five seconds before. "And you can tell me if you like it. I personally recommend we pick one for each the muggle and magical world. It makes it even harder to trace you. That alright?" He got a nod, and that was apparently sufficient for him. "First name." He reached into the hat and pulled out a slip of paper. "And last name." He pulled out a second piece. "Is the name Remy LeBeau fine for you?"

Harry shrugged, not having any better ideas. "I guess."

"Good. Now for the muggle world. Is Adam Newman allowable?" Another shrug, as Harry still seemed to be trying to catch up to the current events in his head. He had been put in isolation, almost had his memory modified, was attacked, was about to flee Britain and move to Australia, and now had more things to deal with. No wonder he was overwhelmed.

"Yeah, because the name 'New man' is totally subtle and not obvious at all." Snape added sarcastically, gleeful at being able to use his favorite skill, Potter taunting.

Ragnok fixed him with a withering look. "It is called hiding in plain sight." He said loftily. "Something of which I believe you could use help in."

Snape winced, remembering his experience as a fugitive. "Touché."

"Then if you could sign these." Ragnok waved a hand and a six inch thick pile of paperwork landed on the desk. Ragnok snickered at the look on their faces. "Just kidding." He waved his hand again and a single piece was left. "If you would write your new name and sign at the bottom…"

Harry quickly did as instructed, wincing as the blood quill bit into the back of his hand as he signed and the piece of paper glowed before vanishing. "Nice to meet you Mr. Newman." Snape drawled. He glanced at the director. "I take it that the paper is now in the goblin archives and not at the ministry?"

Ragnok grinned savagely. "Indeed. I am letting it nowhere near them. Now, as to how we get you out of the country in a hurry…" A small goblin rushed in and whispered in his ear before leaving. Ragnok scowled. "Dang it. Dumbledore is out. I had hoped he would be stuck for longer. Apparently he has placed magical London on lockdown. We need to get you out of here."

Snape raised a hand, with a smirk plastered on his face. "Excuse me. By chance is the magic car of the Weasleys in their vault?"

Ragnok's brow furrowed before he smiled. "I believe it is. Arthur Weasley deposited it here a while back to hide it from his wife. Why?"

Snape leaned back in relief. "Good. Then I know what to do. Do you have a spare floo? I need to call up a favor from someone of importance."

"Sure. I will get the car ready. Griphook!" He called. Said goblin stepped forward quickly. "Please show Mr. Snape here to the nearest unoccupied floo." He turned to Harry. "Could we borrow one of your hairs? We could polyjuice one of my goblins and send him out the front doors to cause a diversion while you sneak out the back."

"No problem." Harry plucked a hair from his head and held it out.

Ragnok took it and rang a little bell as another goblin came into the room. "Take this hair and put it in polyjuice and then give it to Snarlfang. He will know what to do." He picked up the hat from the table and tossed it to the green eyed teen across from him. "Keep this. Nobody will expect the prestigious boy-who-lived to wear something muggle. Harry nodded in thanks as he placed it on his head before looking at himself in a small handheld mirror Ragnok handed him. He quite liked the look actually.

Snape came back into the room smiling. "Done. We will meet someone who will let us through. He will say something about the car attacking someone so we know it is him. Got a back door we can use?" He asked Ragnok, eyes twinkling devilishly.

The goblin smiled. "Of course. We have tons of back passageways and getaway plans. Better safe than sorry, as the muggles say. Come; let us go to the car." He led them through Gringotts, careful to avoid any human customers in the bank. He showed them to the car, which looked a little more beaten up than the last time Harry had seen it, looking like it had gone ten rounds with the Whomping Willow. "This passage leads to part of muggle London. Dumbledore has contacted the muggle police and convinced them that a man of your description-" He nodded at Snape. "-Has kidnapped a black haired, green eyed youngster with a distinctive scar on his head. They will have set up a checkpoint around the airports, so be careful."

Severus smiled. "Not to worry, already thought of that and took care of it. Do you have the tickets for the airplane?" Ragnok handed them to him before hesitating for a moment.

"Just so you know… I would not have done this for just anyone." He said solemnly. "I could count the number on one hand. The son of Lily Evans is one such. She not only fought for the goblins, but saved my life once. As she was a goblin-friend, so are you now." He passed a small locket in the shape of a galleon to Harry. "If you open this, you can talk to its twin, which I have here." He held up a matching one. "Call, and we shall answer. Fight, and the goblins of Gringotts will fight with you. Our home is your home. Our food is your food. Our weapons are your weapons." He bowed forward slightly. "Good luck and fair weather goblin-friend. May we meet again in better times. Leave in precisely two minutes, as that is when we shall make a distraction that will let you slip away." He walked away and was gone within moments.

"I hope you understand the import of what he just did Potter." Snape hissed, deadly serious, face pale as he listened to the goblin. "Take care not to betray his confidence in you, unless you wish for an eternity of suffering, for yourself and for him. Get in; we need to be ready to leave." They piled into the car and on the stroke of two minutes quietly drove out the passage and into muggle London.

(line break)

The front doors of Gringotts creaked open slowly and a couple patrons sauntered out, talking among themselves. A small boy with emerald green eyes, raven black hair, a cloak, and a lightning bolt scar followed them, attempting to avoid being seen by using them as shields. He cast a quick glace around the Alley, looking for any members of Dumbledore's Order. He slipped away from the upstanding members of the wizarding world he had been following and attempted to vanish into the crowds in Diagon Alley. He walked quickly and change direction often, attempting to throw off any pursuit. He finally slowed down, just as he caught sight of a few wizards and witches approaching him, keeping their wands unobtrusively pointed at him. Snarlfang, polyjuiced as Harry Potter, gave a small smile. Now was the time to further exploit the divides in the wizarding world. He waited till they got close then wheeled and took off running down the middle of the Alley. The followers cursed before running after him. Snarlfang smiled grimly. Just as they had planned. Now, to attract attention…

"Help!" He shouted, racing between pedestrians who turned to look at the voice. "They are trying to kidnap me! Aurors! Help!" He shrieked. Several members of the community, as well as a few aurors in earshot, started towards the commotion.

"Stupefy!" The wizard in the lead shouted, as he aimed his wand at the fleeing figure. Snarlfang threw himself to the side, allowing the red spell to streak past him and slam into an innocent bystander waiting in line at Florian Fortescue's Ice cream parlor. The child crumbled to the ground and a howl of outrage rose from everyone in the alley. Whole crowds drew their wands and raced after the wrongdoers, eager to dish out some payback. Diagon Alley now resembled a mob scene. A furious torrent of people were chasing several people who were in turn in pursuit of a small figure, who darted around a corner and down an alley, well ahead of his pursuers. He ran up to the waiting goblins hidden at the back of the alley and gave them a signal. One of them passed him a small button that was charmed to destroy magical disguises. He nodded in thanks as he morphed back into his normal form and donned a cloak that exactly matched the one he had been wearing as he ran down Diagon Alley before turning his back to the entrance of the alley. The people that had attempted to catch him rounded the curve and, seeing the small figure facing away from them, launched a series of stunners and body-binds. Snarlfang crumpled to the ground, giving a wink to the goblins nearby, just in time for the mob to see the atrocity carried out against what was clearly a goblin. The goblin warriors, who had been positioned ahead of time, ran forward in mock indignation, waving their weapons and generally causing a major ruckus. Several aurors finally managed to make their way to the front of the crowd that was howling for blood and swiftly disarmed all the Order members before placing them in protective custody, trying to prevent the goblins, as well as the mob, from trying to lynch them. They rapidly revived Snarlfang, and the aurors apologized profusely and swore up and down that justice would be done. Assuaged, the goblins agreed, giving a warning that they would be watching to see what would happen before returning to Gringotts, basking in the glow of a job well done. Nobody thought to question what goblins had been doing in a dead-end alley so far from Gringotts.

(line break)

They had driven carefully through the streets, keeping an eye out for any Order members. They had not seen any, and slowly Snape began to relax as mile after mile peeled away and no enemies were spotted. Then he straightened and cursed lightly. Sure enough, the muggle police had set up a barricade around the airport and were checking the passengers. One of the officers stood off to the side, not participating. When he saw the car he walked forward and beckoned them off to the side before walking up to the car.

"Is there a problem officer?" Snape asked coolly, having rolled down the window to talk to the muggle.

The officer shifted uncomfortably. "Who are you?"

"What do you want, name, rank and serial number?" Both of them sniggered for a moment before composing themselves.

"In all seriousness sirs, we have received several complaints of this car attempting to eat bystanders, as well as doors opening and closing under their own power. One would almost say it was… What is the word I am looking for… Oh, yes. Magic." He gave a sly wink to Severus as he said this.

"Ah. This is a clown car you see, used in the circus, and it is currently being lent to me by a friend in the circus. I will turn off the special features." Snape said, keeping a straight face and a serious tone.

"I see. That explains it. Officially, that story checks out, you are free to go." The officer winked. Unofficially…" He trailed off, smirking. "Off the record, Her Majesty says to convey the message that she thanks you for your help in the problem the castle had a while back. She says she is glad to help an old friend. She will stall Dumbledore as much as she can, and try to get immunity for your charge. Good luck sir, and stick it to that old git." The officer saluted before peeling back the coat he was wearing to show a badge. "Magic division of MI6, LSM graduate, class of '64. I always hated Albus. Wand please?" He asked Harry. At Snape's nod, Harry did as asked. The officer muttered something under his breath as the wand glowed for a moment before handing it back. "No one is going to catch you doing under-age magic now." He waved them on as he went back to his job.

Harry looked at Snape. "Her Majesty? You know the _Queen_?" He asked, his voice rising in incredulity

Snape smirked. "God save the Queen and all that rot. There is a lot about me that nobody knows. I do expect you to keep this a secret though." He cast a dangerous gaze at the young man sitting next to him. Harry nodded vigorously, not really having thought there was more to the potions master than met the eye.

Snape quickly got him on the plane before going to one of his safe houses he has set up for just this type of occurrence, in a place no one would ever think to look for him. He had just settled in after congratulating himself before he sat up straight. "Damn! Tracking Charms!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Just a side note. If anyone has problems with the rating of this (or any!) story, please tell me and explain why. I would really prefer for my story not to be taken down, and run the risk of me not having a backup file somewhere for it. Hope my made up entries sound official enough ;) That bit with the unnamed person; (I tried my hardest to avoid names) about being a surrogate father, that was how I had always envisioned the way they treated each other. I could be wrong completely. But this is fanfiction, so whatever. Should not be too hard to guess identities, I left a boatload of references.**

 **This would have been up last Thrusday, but I was sick and then forgot. So here it is.**

Chap 2

The flight had been peaceful for the most part. Airplane trips were not all they were hyped up to be. He had nothing to do except for reading a few books he had with him about charms and DADA. He was engrossed in _12 spells for self-defense_ in the middle of a description on how aurors tracked suspects when he looked at a line and cursed.

 _It is routine for any investigating auror(s) to obtain permission to cast a tracking/locating charm (See page 493) on a suspect. This use, of course, demands probable use or evidence of wrongdoing to hold this practice. Indeed, the use is so common that many do not bother to ask, and the misuse of this charm is usually ignored._

Harry hurriedly flipped through the book to page 493 (He was on page 127). There was the entry he was looking for, in a selection of commonly used charms and curses employed by law enforcement. He tapped on the charm title and the text expanded.

 _The tracking charms, of which there are several variations, give the location of the subject of the charm, unless said subject enters under heavy wards (See Fidelius charm, Family Manors, Ministry of Magic, and Goblin Magic). If the carrier has recently left the protection of said wards, the charm is usually blocked for a short time afterwards. This charm does not give off any kind of light or sound when attached to a target, helping conceal the presence of the tracker. Many adult wizards, especially in dangerous or high level/ministerial jobs, routinely check themselves for this charm. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!_

Harry snickered at the abrupt change of tack, assuming (correctly) that Moody had helped create this book. However, this not being what he was looking for, started to scan the text rapidly.

 _This charm… Is detectable with most diagnostic charms… One of the most basic ones, easily learned even by those still in Hogwarts, is found on page 359._

Harry quickly turned to that page and scrutinized it. It did seem simple, with only a basic incantation and wand movements necessary.

After muttering the incantation to himself, and quickly glancing up and down to make sure no one was watching him, he cast the charm on himself. According to the tome, the basic diagnostic charm he was using could not do much besides reveal the presence of any trackers. The color that issued from the end of the wand was supposed to circle him before changing colors. For every color change, that equated to one locater charm.

He watched in dread, then alarm, and then resignation as the light quickly flashed into different colors dozens of times before it stopped. It flashed red and yellow and green and brown and scarlet and black and ochre and peach and ruby and olive and violet and fawn and lilac and gold and chocolate and mauve and cream and crimson and silver and rose and azure and lemon and russet and grey and purple and white and pink and orange and blue.

He moved back to the page detailing the locating charm and again started to read, looking for a way to safely negate the charm. He found the page he was looking for and sighed in relief.

 _This charm, unlike others, is easily and harmlessly removed by Finite Incantatem, a very simple spell. WARNING! If a magic artifact is being used to monitor the connections, and the counter spell is spoken with intent and more than the normal magic, it will overload the connection and explode the monitoring device(s)._

Harry instantly thought back to the Headmaster's office, with the rows and shelves full of spinning, whirling silver instruments. He gave a feral smile and instantly cast the ending charm on himself dozens of time in succession, concentrating hard on destruction and _pushing_ his magic into the incantation. He then rescanned himself and was satisfied when the color stayed at blue, the original color. He settled smugly back into his chair, leaning back with a sigh. While the charms were disturbing, there really was not much he could do about it. Whoever had placed the charms (He suspected Dumbledore and the faculty, as there were dozens of them) likely knew he was either on a plane or boat heading towards the US or Canada. There was no point worrying over that which he could not change. He resigned himself towards a welcoming committee and began to read on any offensive curses he could quickly learn that might prove of use. The inside out and energy beam spells looked particularly inviting…

(Line break)

Finally back in the (relatively) safe confines of his office, Dumbledore settled back into his chair with a sigh. He was really getting to old for this. He cast his mind back to the Gringotts debacle. Curse that Weasley and his thrice-damned temper! To distract himself, he glanced over at his shelf. The device told him that Harry was somewhere over the Atlantic. That meant he was going to either Canada or America. But why? Where had he gone wrong with the boy? Why would he trust Snape, a man that Harry hated, over himself? Yes, he had sent the boy back to the Dursley's… But he had to! The blood wards took power from sacrifice, originally Lily's. That power would have worn out eventually, and allowed the Death Eaters through. The wards took power from any kind of sacrifice. That included lack of love, the beatings, lack of contact with his friends, the list went on. Every time he was forced to give something up, the wards grew exponentially stronger.

That completely aside, he _needed_ the boy to be shy and look to a leader. Namely, himself. Voldemort needed to be defeated, and Albus Dumbledore was just the man to lead the light. He could not afford Harry to split from him and possible form another side in the conflict that was raging in Britain. The sacrifices and lies required for Harry were regrettable, but it was all for the greater good. For a moment, doubt entered his head but it was ruthlessly crushed. This was necessary. A teenage boy in the throes of angst could not be allowed to do as he pleased, thus necessitating all the lies and the misdirection that went into Harry's everyday life at Hogwarts. Yet as he cast his mind back, he grew ever more uncomfortable with his actions. He had ignored the complaints and problems surrounding Snape, but he needed his spy! Had he known about Quirrel, well…? Yes. Kind of. His magic had felt different, it stank of dark magic. Yet he had ignored it, it was necessary for the boy to learn courage and skill for him to go through the gauntlet of tests before the stone. As for the tri-wizard tournament, please. He had known Mad-Eye for years. He was paranoia embodied. The man had layers upon layers of passwords, motions, and safeguards. The only one the fake Moody knew was the old refrain, CONSTANT VIGILANCE!

It had been clear on the first day this was not the old ex-auror, but his instruction had been better than anything else Dumbledore could have rustled up on such short notice. Harry needed to learn to defend himself, no matter the source. He had resolved to keep a heavy eye on the Death Eater, but he had failed, much to his regret. His oversight had resulted in the death of a student. As he reviewed all his past actions with a clear mind, he began to realize the truth. Slowly he admitted to himself that _maybe_ some of his more questionable decisions were driven more by a slight appetite for power and recognition than for the good of the wizarding world, much less Britain.

If he was only just realizing this, how long had others known? Flitwick had started to distance himself from the Headmaster more and more in recent years, and had even told the Headmaster that he was considering a position at a different school, and the odds were good he would accept. What would Hogwarts due without their charms teacher? As an ex-champion on the professional dueling circuit, Filius knew what he was doing. He could not say the same for any last second potential replacement. He already had to find a replacement for DADA (Again) and potions, _and_ now, likely charms. He leaned back in his chair and massaged his face wearily. It wasn't always easy being Hogwarts' Headmaster. He had to put on a good face in public to everyone. He could remember back to his youth. A (at the time) rather notorious Dark Lord had been killed by a heroic young wizard. The public had then begun to fear him for his power, though he had done nothing wrong, and eventually jumped at an excuse to eliminate him. That was part of the reason for his doddering old grandfather act. If people saw him as an unthreatening asset, they would not worry about him. He had to be very careful in the years after defeating Grindelwald, as people braced for him, Albus Dumbledore, to become the next Dark Lord. He never had and slowly the expectation went away, leaving him free to do his work. While people loved building up their heroes, the only thing they enjoyed more was tearing them down. Never let it be said that Albus Dumbledore did not know the ins and outs of the press. Now all he had to do was think of a way to spin this debacle so the blame rested on the goblins. He knew the goblins abhorred the press. All he had to do was present the story to the Daily Prophet first… He started up in his chair in alarm as acrid smoke filled the room before an explosion ripped aside the curtain of silence that had hung in the room. One by one, all of Dumbledore's monitoring devices exploded, sending pieces everywhere and irreparably destroying them. Coughing violently, the Headmaster waved his wand, clearing the room before looking at the mess. His office was a disaster. Again. That would need to be cleaned up. But first, he had to make a call to some friends in the Canadian Ministry.

(Line break)

The plane landed with a solid thump, bouncing a time or two before pulling into the gate at Toronto Pearson International Airport. Harry looked up, startled by the sudden jounce, before he sighed in resignation and placed his books away. He checked all his preparations. He was hoping that maybe Dumbledore had not been paying attention to the tracking charm. It was likely a vain hope, but one could dream. He disembarked, bag slung over his shoulder, doing is best to remain unobtrusive. He risked poking his head up and performing a quick visual scan around the gate and the people waiting to board. No one who looked too official was nearby. That was good. He had about an hour and a half layover before he hopped onto his next flight. He went over to the nearest café and ordered a sandwich and some coffee. He had grown quite fond of the stuff. As he was preparing to go back to his table, someone bumped into him. His sandwich and coffee flew out of his hands and he fell to the floor but a pair of hands belonging to the person who bumped him snatched out and caught it, before helping him up and returning them to him.

"Meet me at the table." The man who knocked him over said fiercely to Harry before walking away. Harry watched him walk to a nearby table in the corner in surprise. He was a seemingly middle aged man, dressed in normal muggle clothes, with the exception of a rather loud Hawaiian shirt. The man took a seat and glanced around before beckoning him over. Mystified, Harry shrugged and walked over, sitting down. "Good to see you Mr. LeBeau." The man said pleasantly. "I must congratulate you on your escape. Welcome to Canada." He held out his hand for Harry to shake.

Harry stared at him in bewilderment. The man cocked his head to one side, hand still poised in the air. "What?" He asked. "Did I accidently speak in Elvish again?"

Harry slowly shook his head.

"Then what is the problem?"

Harry shrugged before reaching out and shaking his hand. "My aunt always said not to talk to strangers." He rejoined.

The man threw his head back and laughed a little. "Well said. I received a message from a source rather high up in the muggle food chain in Britain, to be on the alert for a Mr. Newman and to help him in any way I could. In a startling coincidence, he is said to look exactly like a Mr. Harry Potter, who was also on the same flight. But then, I wouldn't know anything about that." He said as he winked furiously, making it look like he had something in his eye.

Harry chuckled lightly, warming up to him already instinctively. "No, I did not happen to see anyone going by the name of Harry Potter." He said.

"Oh good." The man settled back into his chair. "I apologize for knocking you over, but I had to get your attention, and I was not sure if you would answer to your new name. You can call me Mr. Jolly!" he said jovially. Harry slowly raised an eyebrow. "What? Don't judge! It describes me perfectly." He chuckled. "As one of the lines from a famous movie of yours says, I love to laugh!" He laughed again for a moment before growing serious. "I think your friends in Gringotts did you one better than you asked for my young friend. They revoked your British citizenship and got you an Australian one instead! Welcome to the Down Under mate!" He flashed a bright smile.

Harry smiled back. "Thanks for telling me. And please tell Ragnok thank you. But won't that tip off where I am going?" He asked worriedly.

Jolly shook his head. "Not to worry my young friend. It was not registered at the Ministry. It was registered at Gringotts and at the ICW, who cannot reveal it. So do not be worried. Eat, eat! Whoever heard of a skinny Harry Potter? Sorry, Jayden Newman." He watched as the (Now formerly) British wizard wolfed down the food. Jolly leaned forward. "Your plane does not depart for another hour or so. It my job, and the jobs of my fellows-" he gestured to another man leaning against a wall, apparently engaged in reading the newspaper, who looked up and gave a brief smile. "Who you can call Plumpy." He winked at Harry again. Harry smiled and nodded, after all, the man was a little more rotund than normal. "And somewhere around here is Queen Frostine." He was halted by the tip of a wand that appeared out of thin air mere inches in front of Jolly's face. A tall, lean man moved more of the invisibility cloak aside so Harry could see him.

"I told you not to call me that!" He hissed.

"Because he has such a frosty personality and cold exterior!" Jolly shot back. "But fine." He continued unabated. "You can be Mr. Mint." The taller man nodded reluctantly and pulled the invisibility cloak closer around himself, vanishing from sight. "Of sourness." He added under his breath so Harry could hear him. Harry snickered, and they heard a muffled indignant cry from the man who they knew was there.

"I heard that you know!" The voice hissed. Jolly nodded, completely unabashed.

"I know." He said happily, rubbing his hands together.

"I never understood your obsession with that game." Mint murmured.

"Its characters are named after sweets! How much more tasty can you get? But anyway, I digress. We are here on orders from the Canadian Ministry of Magic, who is much better than yours." He allowed himself a Snape like sneer for a moment. "To make sure nothing happens to you. When someone of her caliber calls us, you can be assured we listen." He continued.

As he finished speaking a flash of flame erupted in the middle of the table and Fawkes appeared. Contrary to his normal appearance, he did not sing and trill loudly but rather miserably sank down onto the table and offered Harry a letter. He reached for it instinctively.

"No!" Mint shouted. Everyone turned to look, but Harry had screened the Phoenix with his back, and seeing Jolly give an apologetic smile, returned to their business. "It's a trap." He stated more quietly. Jolly nodded.

"I half-expected them to try something like this." He said sadly. He fished something out of his pocket and reached to attach it to the envelope.

"What does that do?" Harry asked.

Jolly smiled grimly. "If this is a legit letter? Nothing. But if this is what I think it is…" He tossed the object at the envelope. Instantly, the portkey activated and whisked away, taking the phoenix with it. "It will explode once it reaches the other side in a small firebomb." He smiled, pleased with himself. When Harry gave him a worried look he relented. "It won't kill them." He waved his hand dismissively. "Just send them to St. Mungo's for an extended period of time with a lot of burns." He finished happily. Harry stared for a moment before shrugging it off, figuring that they deserved it. "Come on." Jolly said, rising to his feet. "We are going to go demand some answers from Dumbledore." He led Harry down the concourse and took several turns, finally entering a room with a bunch of rides and a few doors built into the walls.

"In here." Jolly said, leading Harry under a sign that said 'Pirates of the Caribbean.'. There was a nearby sign that proclaimed the mini-ride closed. Jolly smirked at Harry's face. "Stole that from our southern neighbors." He said happily. "Not the ride." He hastened to add. "Just the name and the idea. This place is always shut down. We have a magical security office behind here." They entered and Jolly busied himself by the fireplace, fiddling with the controls.

"There." He said. "Now they can't come through, or drag us in." Harry raised a hand tentatively.

"Excuse me sir, but can't they trace the floo connection? Dumbledore could send someone…" he trailed off as he saw Jolly bobbing his head.

"Yep. Here's hoping they do, I've been wanting to nail that bugger for ages. We're ready for them." He threw a bunch of powder into the fire and shouted. "Dumbledore's office!" The fire flared green and the Headmasters office was projected onto a screen, as the fireplace was currently closed to entry.

Dumbledore appeared surprised by his floo activating but quickly recovered. "Ah, Harry! I am about to head over to Grimmuald place to see you. Is something wrong?"

"Yes." Jolly strode in front of Harry and stood in front of the floo so Albus could see him. "Long time no see… Albie." Harry choked on hearing the name, coughing furiously for a moment before he got himself under control.

" _Albie_?" He asked incredulously.

Jolly smirked back at him. "At least I didn't call him Princess Lolly… Oh, Tweedle Dumbeedore, you must tell me, how is Lord Licorice?" Dumbledore sighed and rubbed his face with his left hand.

"Please, not again with your Candy Land fetish. I still haven't recovered from being traumatized last time."

"That explains quite a lot actually." Harry chimed in, and he and Jolly gave each other a high five.

"Oh, and how has Professor Gloppy been performing? You know, with his Glopclub. Or the head of the Lions, Grandma Nutt?"

"What did you call me?" Asked the good lady in question indignantly, coming into the room just in time to catch the tail end of the query. She narrowed her eyes in fury at Jolly. "Oh. It's you." She stated flatly.

Jolly looked shifty and turned to Harry. "Are we sure we want to continue? Last time Granny and I talked, she broke my ribs with her purse." He said this with a completely straight face.

Harry looked curious at this. He hadn't even known his former head-of-house had a purse. Though now that he thought about it, it was probably made out of the same materials as the Gumdrop Pass… He shook his head vigorously. Now he was talking like Jolly too!

"I always carry a brick in my purse still just in case I meet you again," she growled.

Harry's eyes grew wide and he looked at Jolly. "A brick? McGonagall broke your ribs with a _brick_?" Ouch." He winced in sympathy.

"I know." Jolly bobbed his head. "I was helping a friend of mine break up with her son. I was forced to step in to create a diversion to stop the conversation. Did not go so well." He rubbed his ribs gingerly, thinking back to that long ago day.

"It was self-defense." The transfiguration teacher responded. "You said you were there to rob me!"

"I was dressed in black and came out of hiding in the bushes! What else was I supposed to say?" He asked.

McGonagall stamped her foot impetuously, like a little child. "Anything but that! Maybe I would not have attacked you then!"

"I am so glad the second attempt went much better. It must have been due to my incantation at the beginning."

Harry looked at Jolly again. "Incantation?"

Jolly nodded vigorously. "Yes. Gloves on, earpieces in, prayers offered…" Harry snickered at that.

He looked at McGonagall, who was fuming, and asked another question. "Why do you call her Grandma Nutt?"

Jolly winked back at him. "Isn't it obvious? Grandma refers to her age…" He ignored the shriek of outrage. "And Nutt because she didn't like the other names."

"Like what?" Harry asked quickly, his curiosity piqued.

"Heart Breaker… Man eater… Soul Crusher… And Butterfly… of sadness." Harry shook his head in disbelief at his new Canadian friend and turned back to Dumbledore, who had been watching the verbal tennis match with acute interest, his large blue eyes twinkling.

"Now, would you like to explain why you attempted to capture me in Gringotts and attempted to kidnap me on Canadian soil?" He asked, hands on his hips, foot tapping irritably.

"My boy…" The Headmaster started.

Harry whipped a hand in the air to stop him. "I. Am. Not. You're. Boy. I am not your student, and you will address me as such."

"It is clear you have been kidnapped against you will-"

Harry waved his hands frantically around. "Whoa old man, back up the trolley a bit. What makes you think I was kidnapped? Just because I refuse to be led like an innocent lamb to the slaughter you think I must be captured? I am trying to get as far away from you as I can."

Dumbledore sighed and turned to McGonagall, his eyes twinkling as he adopted his best paternal expression. "It is clear he is either under the imperious or under some mind control potions. We need to rescue him as soon as possible. To that end, I sent a team-" From their side Harry and Jolly could hear the sound of a door being broken down before shouting and a fight ensued on the other end. "And there they are now." He finished smugly, sitting back in satisfaction.

McGonagall gasped in horror. "Albus, what have you done?" She asked slowly.

"Got you Dumbledore." Every eye turned to Jolly. "How stupid are you? This whole time, you thought you were oh so clever in keeping us talking while you sent troops after us. You have been outmaneuvered Albus. We are going to stop this attack, and then make a public example out of them. Congratulations. In one fell swoop, you have just ended the careers and home lives of anyone you sent here. And don't bother with the portkeys, or apparition. We have wards up to stop those. And I daresay your phoenix won't listen to you either. Face it Dumbledore. You're done. Just wait until I tell the ICW that their Head Warlock launched an unprovoked attack on an allied nation's territory. That is completely disregarding the fall-out of the bank. I highly doubt you will survive the backlash. And if you do, Canada, Harry, Gringotts, and I will all be waiting. It was nice meeting with you. " He performed a mock bow and turned off the floo, leaving the shocked face of the headmaster staring slack jawed after them.

Jolly looked at Harry as he drew his magic up around him. Harry watched as the air began to hum around him and realized that Jolly could be quite intimidating when he choose. "Ready?"

Harry pulled out his wand and whipped it through the air several times to warm up. "Born ready." They both turned and entered into the main office. It was bedlam. About twenty Order members and aurors were pinned down in a large group in the middle of the hall. Spell fire was coming from doorways, the walls, and emplacements in the floor. The attacking force had quickly transfigured cover for themselves, but were unable to do much. If someone popped their head up, they were quickly knocked out. They were forced to resort to firing blind.

"I got this!" Jolly called before backing up. He took a running start and leaped high into the air, coming down right in the middle of the invaders. "Geronimo!" He called as he landed and lashed out with his magic in every direction. The expanding ring of force slammed into the wizards and sent them flying, scattering them around the room. Canadians rushed out from under cover and began to duel with the wizards, most of whom were either stunned or bound in short order. A few managed to recover in time, and as Jolly started to duel Moody Harry took on Tonks. Harry opened matters against his opponent by casting a first year spell, Aguamenti, on the tile floor. Tonks looked confused.

"What was-" She jumped aside as Harry cast a bludgeoning curse at her and as she landed, she slipped, and crashed to the ground hard. Harry was right on top of her by the time she recovered and hit her with a body bind curse.

"Accio Tonks' wands" He said calmly, and was rewarded when a pair of wands sped into his hand. He wagged a finger at her. "Really Nymphadora." He said calmly. "You are an auror. Set an example! Invading a sovereign nation to try to kidnap someone? Really? I thought better of you." He shook his head mournfully. "My godfather gave his life to save yours. And you repay him by continuing to listen and obey the man who largely set up his death?" He saw the question in her eyes and sighed. "Oh please. Dumbledore was the person who cast the Fidelius. He knew the secret keeper was not Sirius. He just let him rot in prison for thirteen years. And then, when Sirius and a few others pushed for him to tell me of the link with Voldemort, he refused. I hold myself responsible for what happened, but he is equally to blame. I highly recommend you reexamine your life choices before you go to trial." He walked over and handed the wands to Jolly, who had subdued Moody in the same amount of time that Harry had succeeded in. Jolly pocketed them, along with all the other wands that had been captured.

"Good job." He said to Harry. "We are going to go lock them up now. Any objections?" Harry shook his head. "All right then. We gotta get you to your plane. It should leave in about twenty minutes." Harry glanced at a nearby clock and gulped. Jolly smirked. "Don't worry. We can get you through security easily, follow me." He took off running and Harry, not having any better ideas, followed him. The people at the security recognized him, and let him and the boy following him through without stopping them. Jolly slowed to a stop in front of the gate for his plane and bowed. "Tada! Here you are."

Harry smiled back. "Thank you for all your help Jolly." He said softly. "Dumbledore would have gotten me for sure without you."

Jolly just waved off his thanks. "Don't worry about it. Always glad to stick one to Dumbledore. We will make sure this gets out. Just remember, if you ever need help, you have friends in Canada." He faded into the background a little and watched Harry board the plane without incident. He returned to the security booth and walked to a phone. "Hello? Yes. Could you get me the New York Times and the Washington Post?"

(line break)

Thinking deeply always made him feel silly. It made him feel like he was contemplating the meaning of life or something. No matter how hard he tried to think back, he only caught flashes of terror. He had desperately tried to remember what had made him stay here in the first place. He ran through a check list in his head. He had felt… Attracted. That was probably the best word for this situation. He had felt attracted, obligated even, to help in fulfilling the vision the old man had, of a school, and a world that was safe for everyone. But he was gone now. Killed. In a fit of rage by what was essentially a remnant, a shadow, of the woman he had once loved. So that tie had been broken. He had wanted to stay around _her_ , hanging around even after it was clear he had lost the race for her affections. Even then, he had still enjoyed just seeing her every day, enjoying her sense of concern over him. She was also dead. She had died twice now, actually. Once in a sacrifice, and the other time by his hand. He glanced down inadvertently at his hand. He clenched it into a fist and shook his head furiously. It wasn't like he had had a choice, but he still had nightmares of that moment. He still experienced self-loathing. That was a new experience for him. Or maybe it wasn't. It wasn't like he knew anything of his past life except for the last year or so. To this day, he wondered if he had done something, _anything_ , differently, if she might not still be here today. He had felt a friendly comradery with her fiancé, but he too was in another realm now. And maybe it was for the better. The only thing that had connected them was their common love they shared. So really, what was left? What here demanded his loyalty? Sure, he had people here who tolerated him, liked him as a friend even. He had two girls who basically behaved as if he was a surrogate father for them, even if they had only known him for less than a year. One was out from under his wing now, living happily next to her boyfriend. The other still followed him around, and hung on his every word. But she was growing up. She had proved it recently with the way she had conducted herself and thought on the fly in that recent conflict. She did not need him anymore.

That just left the children. He had a soft spot in his heart for the little ones. And Heaven help the person who dared mistreat one while he was around. But he had seen the way they looked at him. Some looked with surprise, others with awe. Even more looked at him with barely disguised fear. Stories about him had circulated throughout the area, getting exaggerated and built upon with every telling. He snorted grimly. He wouldn't be surprised if at this point it said he had single-handedly fought an army and defeated its leader, maybe with a little assistance from his sidekicks. Sidekicks. If anything, the little ones had the story wrong. He was not a leader, never had been. He was more of a follower, a doer. He left the leading to others who knew better than him. He wavered for a moment, a debate raging internally, before he stiffened his resolve. His rep had painted a target on his back. Anywhere he went, he endangered those around him. It was better that he leave. She would be disappointed and unhappy, but she would get over him. She would find a different figure to look up to instead.

Decision finalized and mind made up, he busied himself with packing. He went around his room, throwing everything he cared to take with him into a small suitcase. His jeans and flannel shirts were the first thing he reached for; followed by his few possessions he truly cared about. She came in partway through his efforts, leaning in the doorway, watching him without saying a word. He did his best to ignore her as he continued. Finally having everything packed, he picked up the suitcase and turned to leave. As he came closer, she made no attempt to move out of his way.

"You are leaving?" Her voice was soft, as her white hair fluttered in the breeze from the air-conditioner.

"Yep. Here to stop me?"

She shook her head and backed up, removing herself from his path. "I wouldn't dream of it. Besides, I likely couldn't beat you on my own anyway." This drew a small smile, albeit a grim one, on his face for a moment. As he made to move past here, she grabbed his arm, forcing him to look her in the eye. "Just remember, you always have a place here with us. You are never alone."

He sighed and rubbed his face tiredly with his other hand. "We both know that you can't look at me without remembering her death in the back of your head. Neither can anyone else." She hesitated, ready to refute his argument, before dropping her eyes in silent acknowledgment of his point. He grimaced at the look on her face and stretched out a hand to her, clapping her shoulder. "It's not just you. I feel that way every time I look in the mirror. Not a night goes by when I am not forced to relive that moment. I never truly belonged here. I was always more of a lone wolf. I only came here originally because I was protecting a young girl who knew little about the world, who needed help. I somehow went from that to helping everyone here. But I can't take it anymore. I need to leave."

"But what about her? She admires you so much it's almost scary. She'll be crushed that you left without saying goodbye." She finished plaintively.

He frowned, his eyebrows coming together to form a solid line. "It would be even worse if I talked to her. It would rip both of our hearts open. She will never forgive me for leaving without talking to her, and that is best for everyone. I am unique. I can take punishment and keep coming back for more. Almost no one else here can do that, yet some of them want to be just like me. She will be sad for a while, but this spares her more pain in the long run." He put two fingers under her jaw and slowly raised her head up so she was looking at him. "I will never forget what you and all the others did for me over the last year. You gave me help, shelter when I needed it, and more importantly, a purpose. You gave me hope that I was not alone, that others have to go through what I did. I may not be here, but if there is an emergency, send out some kind of sign. I will know, and I will come." She smiled sadly as her eyes started to brim with tears.

"Alright then. Take care of yourself." She pulled him into a hug, one between friends parting, nothing more. He tensed, uncomfortable with contact, before she released him. "Your bike is still intact, waiting for you. Until next time then." She walked away without looking back, though it was clearly a struggle for her. He stared after her, shaking his head. "Until next time." He murmured, before heading downstairs. A small figure nearby who had hidden herself nearby rose to her feet. She had heard everything. She had been afraid this would happen, but now that it was, she had no idea what to do. His words about talking to her tore at her heart as she had listened. She thought quickly and ran for her room.

Meanwhile, downstairs, he flicked the lights on in the garage and stared over the motor pool before finding the bike. He grinned. Going fast was one of the few things that made him feel truly alive. It looked like it hadn't been touched since he last used it. He mounted it and flicked on the ignition, smiling at the purring of the engine. He opened the door and threw open the throttle, racing forward and out the open door, feeling the wind whip at his face as he raced away. The girl appeared at the entrance to the garage moments after he had left, and stared after him in consternation. She had hoped to go with him. Now she had to figure out a way to catch up. There was only one way. She turned and ran in the opposite direction, using everything she knew to avoid running into anyone. She threw open the doors to the hangers and, in a scene, eerily similar to the one moments ago, turned on the light and stared at the vehicle inside.

(Line break)

"Uh, ma'am? We have an unauthorized launch of the plane." The woman with white hair who was addressed glanced out the window for a moment, catching sight of the slight figure who sat in the pilot's seat, hunched over the controls, pressing buttons and flipping switches.

"Let her go." She said quietly. "She made her choice. She has flown the nest and followed him. We will probably receive it back in a week or so, giftwrapped and with a bow on top. In the meantime, break the reserve out of storage. Just in case."

"Yes ma'am." He said, subdued. "What should I tell the others?"

"Tell them the truth." The woman said, turning as her cape fluttered behind her. "She was one of the few who truly understood the motives behind his actions, and the torment and self-hate that accompanied his decision. She may well be his last remaining tie to us. Maybe one day she will bring him back. If anyone can dig him out of the well and pit of despair and misery he built for himself, it is her. Go get him girl." She said softly, sending her hopes and good thoughts with the young one who sped off in pursuit of the man, as the only one who cared enough to drop everything and follow him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Just taking the opportunity to flesh out some more, ah-hem, humorous backstory for the character in question. It should be fairly obvious by this point how the characters are, not like I am trying very hard to keep them a secret. Just planning on introducing them later. Again, I own nothing except the alterations to the backstory of certain characters; the OC's which will show up shortly (Which probably suck so badly, no one would want to use them anyway.) and the career choices of the various protagonists. Oh, and the Uluru school of magic. That's mine too. Actually, now that I think about it, I do own quite a bit…**

He sped away, on the bike as the wind chafed his face. The bike was thrown into a hard left turn, the tires screaming as they were forced around a curve at higher speeds than even they had been designed for, leaving the smell of scorched rubber hanging in the air like a thick miasma. His mind drifted away from the back road he was flying over. His hands were on autopilot as he thought back to that long ago day where he had learned how to drive like this. That man had been one of the very few people who, to the best of his (admittedly) faulty memory, who had left him speechless, and, dare he say it, scared. Two other people had been in the student driver car with him, and one of them had been so scared she threw herself out of the car. It was of the very few memories about his previous section of his life he actually remembered.

 _Ffflllaaassshhhbbbaaaccckkk…_

 _A rather young looking version of himself slid into the driver's seat in an old black car, which had a large sign that in white letters proclaimed 'Student Driver'. Two other people slid into the back, one each of a boy and a girl, while an extremely old looking man wearing an old newspaper boy cap forced his way into the shotgun seat._

 _He turned to look at the three before beginning to croak at them. "Good afternoon. I am Mr. Ecklestone, your driver's Ed instructor. This will be your first, and possibly last, excursion into the world of driving. It is immeasurably risky, much like gambling, or online dating. Now before we begin, I would like you all to close your eyes. Breathe deeply…" Everyone was eagerly following along with his commands. "And embrace your impending death." The eyes of every student in the car popped open and stared at the man with a sense of incredulity. He ignored them as he continued. "I have been teaching this course for over ten decades. Statistically, I should have died seventeen and a half times. With each new venture out onto the road I take my fate into my hands. I mean this figuratively of course, because this hand no longer has any feeling in it." He waved his floppy hand in the direction of the driver's face._

" _Your odds of survival would be higher If you sat in a pool of crocodiles whilst playing Russian roulette. With that image in mind… If any of you now wish to exit the death machine at this time, no one will judge you. But if you are here to stay, let us see what new vehicular nightmares await us." By this point everyone was exchanging nervous glances with each other. Mr. Ecklestone surveyed the car before sighing raspingly. "So be it. Buckle up everyone." The seat belts were quickly fastened by all except the instructor who seemed to be struggling to move his seat belt with his rather feeble right hand. The girl in the back quickly assisted him and got a thank you from the instructor._

" _Feels safe and secure doesn't it?" Lots of sage nodding from his audience. "IT'S AN ILLUSION." He barked. Everyone in the car jumped at the sudden increase in volume. "No amount of straps can save you from the horrors that await us. Put the car into gear, check the mirrors, and pray to whatever deities you may worship. If there are any atheists among us you may pray to science."_

" _Where should I go?"_

 _The old man stared at him. "The choice is yours. But choose wisely. Or rest in the knowledge that you have killed us."_

" _What? But this is just a quiet country road! It looks so peaceful."_

" _Peaceful? It is about as peaceful as juggling bombs made out of knives!"_

 _One of the people in the backseat had his brows creased in concentration. "How does that even work?"_

 _Mr. Ecklestone flailed his hands about wildly. "Country roads, as John Denver once said, take you home."_

" _What's wrong with that? The girl asked._

" _Your eternal home!" The instructor roared. "Observe how oncoming cars pass by, mere inches from our own! Blind monkeys could have engineered a safer way to travel!"_

" _Is it really that-"_

" _Dangerous? Here is a math problem for you! Two cars are traveling at one another at sixty five miles an hour! If X is the safety rating of a standard mid-size car, what is the total number of people who are about to die? Answer? All of them!"_

 _He glanced around and peered out the windshield. "Ah. Here we encounter our first obstacle. The left turn off a country road. This foolish man has practically offered the grim reaper a seat in our car." The driver looked back at Mr. Ecklestone._

" _But it's just a left turn-"_

" _Just a left turn? Just a left turn? Would you say it is just a bullet, to the brain? Intersections are the devil's playground, and left turns are his swing set. Everyone assume crash positions!" He bent over at the waist, showing remarkable flexibility for an old man, huddling beneath the dashboard. The two occupants of the backseat followed his example, and the driver started looking around wildly._

" _What do I do?" Mr. Ecklestone popped his head up to fix him with a glare for a moment._

" _Drive man!" He ducked back down and the driver twisted the wheel, while screwing his eyes shut. He opened them just in time to swerve back into the proper lane to avoid a car accident. Mr. Ecklestone slowly raised his head up again. "You are all on borrowed time." He said solemnly._

 _The younger version of himself was beginning to hyperventilate in the driver's seat. "I-I-I'm not sure I can do this anymore."_

" _None of us can. Our human frames were not designed to travel at these velocities. It's an insult to nature. Much like indoor plumbing, or Taco Bell."_

" _How do we stop?"_

" _We can't. These roads can go on forever, much like an Oscar ceremony. We have no choice. It seems like we are already speedily heading towards our next dance with death. A deer crossing." The girl in the backseat frowned._

" _What's wrong with a deer crossing?"_

" _Why don't you ask me after Bambi comes hurtling through the windshield at forty-five miles an hour, and the interior of our car looks like a sea of carnage and antlers! Then maybe you will appreciate the perils of a deer crossing!" The occupants of the car frowned as his words sank in. "DEER!" Mr. Ecklestone screeched._

 _The driver threw the car into a skid as he desperately looked for the deer. "Where is it?"_

" _Sorry, just a squirrel. Constant vigilance! Speed up boy! You are going to get us hit from behind!" The car speeded up on his command before slowing to a halt a few moments later. The girl in the backseat frowned._

" _Why are we stopping?"_

 _Mr. Ecklestone slumped back to his seat. "Its five 'o clock." Everyone looked at him questioningly. "We have unwittingly wandered into rush hour traffic. We are safe." Sighs of relief sounded from around the car. "I would rather we died."_

 _End ffflllaaassshhhbbbaaaccckkk_

He shook his head, dismissing the stream of thought. That was irrelevant. Right now, he needed action, something to get the blood pumping. He could do almost whatever he wanted without risk, as it was not like he could die for long, if at all. He threw the bike into another hard turn. He saw a ramp leading up to a canyon and his eyes lit up. He forced the bike to go even faster as he raced up the ramp and hurtled into empty space. He let out a yell of pure adrenaline, now _this_ was what life was supposed to be like. He absently noticed that he was not going to make it and shrugged. He needed to brush up on how to reconstruct a bike anyway.

As he started to fall he heard the roar of massive engines as something shot towards him. He barely glimpsed it out of the corner of his eyes before he crashed into something and everything went black.

When he woke up, he groaned, forcing his nose back into place, wincing at the pain the action required, before surveying his surroundings. He pooped his shoulder back into its socket and felt his face, noting that the cuts were already almost gone. A pile of smoking and ruined machinery lay on the floor a few feet away from him. Several chairs appeared bolted to the floor near the front. He realized where he was and groaned as he realized who must be here. The front chair in front of the controls rotated around to show a girl with multicolored hair, glaring at him with a frightening expression.

"Mind telling me what the hell that was?" She demanded angrily. He attempted to dodge the question by distracting her.

"Language." She snorted.

"Coming from you, that's rich. I am going to ask again. Why did I need to crash you through the side of the plane? Do you have a death wish?" Her voice got higher and more hysterical as she went on.

He sighed and got up and walked over to her, plopping down in a nearby chair. "You know that would not have killed me. It was not my original idea to fall; I was trying to leap the canyon on my bike." He ran a hand through his perpetually mussed up hair. He frowned as he realized something. "How did you even know I had left? You listened in on me, didn't you?"

She had the grace to flush a little in embarrassment. "Yes. I was partway down the hall."

"So you heard everything?" He got a nod in response from her. He leaned back in the chair and sighed, before burying his face in his hands. "Now what are we going to do?" He asked, to no one in particular. "I did not have a plan, I was just going to try and roam for a while. With you, that option goes out the window. I am assuming you left as well?" The girl nodded. "Well, I got nothing. Any ideas?"

She shrugged. "We could just go around and see famous places I suppose, though I don't think you would be too fond of that choice for some reason." He shuddered his agreement. He had nothing against a great view; it was just too boring for him. "We could just play it by ear I guess." They sat in thought for a few minutes as autopilot flew the plane for them. She snapped her fingers. "I have heard rumors of a school for special people in Australia though."

He looked at her oddly. "After the last school we were at? And in Australia?"

"It was not that bad, I seemed to recall you enjoyed it for a while. Besides, we can always leave if it doesn't suit our fancy." The brunette stated matter-of-factly.

He rolled one shoulder. "Not like we have any better ideas." He grumbled. "Know where it is?"

"According to what I heard, the nearest town is Alice Springs. Apparently you have to pass a trial to even get to the school. Between the two of us, I think we could handle it just fine."

He shook his head, still having a hard time getting it through his head that he was going to the other side of the world. "Alice Springs it is." he murmured as he punched the coordinates into the system before strapping himself down as the plane shot off.

(line break)

Our resident formerly British wizard disembarked from the jumbo jet that had carried him from Canada, to Panama City, then on to Rio de Janeiro, then a really long flight to Sydney, before transferring planes again and finally landing at Alice Springs. He had taken the time out to briefly explore all the cities he had layovers in, using the time to satisfy his curiosity. What he saw astounded him. Why wizards could ever consider themselves superior to muggles was beyond him. He had seen wonders that he could not even describe. He had had much more exposure to muggles than most wizards, what with his abusive childhood and all, but he had apparently not even scratched the surface of what muggles were capable of. It was time like this when he completely sympathized with Mr. Weasley's career choice.

He was interrupted from his musings by his first impression of the Outback. Heat. Lots and lots of heat. England was a nation that always had cool and rainy weather, so this temperature was not something he was used to. He was just not dressed for the weather. Gringotts had given him a small rectangle of plastic, which muggles called a credit card. Apparently it would automatically deduct the cost of whatever he bought from his vaults.

His first order of business was getting himself some new clothes. He went into the first clothing store that he saw. He exited about an hour later, decked out in new duds. A glance at a nearby newspaper confirmed that he had three days before the trial to see who was good enough to attend the school would begin. He purchased the newspaper and flicked through it, reading it as he walked down the street. He peeked up every now and then to see where he was going, and noticed the tell-tale signs of magical concealment. The easiest one to notice was how his eyes seemed to slide over a seemingly innocuous piece of wall. He tapped his wand on the wall, and the bricks seemed to fold away. Harry rolled his eyes. Of course there would be something to supply the magicals living relatively nearby.

He quickly glanced up and down the street before he performed a cartoon era double take, then his eyes narrowed. Halfway down the alley was a shop. Why this particular one? The last shop was narrow and shabby. Peeling gold letters over the door read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window. What? That shop was back in Diagon, in London. He shrugged. He might need a new wand anyway. He had not grown up in the magical world, and had no idea if, for instance, wands needed maintenance.

He entered the shop and a small bell tinkled above his heads. Apparently some wizards had adapted a few things from the muggles. It was a tiny place, empty except for a single, spindly chair, which Harry sat down in to wait. A soft voice drifted out of the back of the shop. "Good afternoon," said a soft voice. Harry jumped. He had known Ollivander enjoyed scaring people, and had prepared himself, but the man could move as quietly as a cat. Ollivander's eyes narrowed as he gazed at the young man. "Well, well, if it isn't Mr. Potter. Or should I say, Mr. LeBeau?"

"How do you know that?" Harry snapped, more than a little surprised and paranoid.

"The same way Albus always knows who is at his office door." Ollivander left it at that, and shuffled closer. "What are you doing here? Last I heard, you were in London and your wand was working just fine."

Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out his wand, showing it to the old man. "It still is working fine, I think. I just wanted to know if there is anything maintenance wise I have to do to it to keep it in tiptop shape." Ollivander shook his head.

"Unless you get hit with a curse that disables or destroys your wand in some way, you should be fine."

"How are you here? You have a shop in London, how are you in two places at once?"

Ollivander chuckled and did not answer the question. "Would you like another wand Mr. LeBeau? It is always a good idea to have a backup." Harry's eyes narrowed at the evasion but did not press.

"Sure." He said shortly. He went through the song and dance of trying out wands with Harry. This time, as Ollivander knew what to look for, he found a matching wand much faster.

"12 inches, willow with a core of… Well, that's my little secret. Give it a wave." Harry did so, and a stream of hot pink and red light streamed out of the end. "I believe we have found a match."

Harry fumbled in his pocket. "How much is it?" he asked.

Ollivander peered at him with his lamp like eyes. "Nothing. Consider it repayment for my part of the debt we owe you and your parents for fifteen years of peace. If you ever need help, Mr. LeBeau, you know where to find it." He shuffled towards the back of the store, before pausing and calling back over his shoulder with a definite tone of amusement "Nice hot pink spell Mr. Potter." He continued on his way, snickering at the outraged yelp.

"It's not pink! It's just… Really, really light red."

"Yes. We have a word for that." Ollivander said in a droll tone. "It's called pink." He left before Harry could think of a suitable retort. Harry left, exiting back onto the street and shaking his head. He didn't think it was possible to get the last word in with him.

A light growl was heard, and he realized it was coming from his stomach. Apparently his body was still on London time. Not that he cared. He had money to spare anyway. He entered what was apparently the equivalent of the leaky cauldron or the hogshead, ordering his meal before taking a seat at the back of the building, his back against a wall. It was always a good idea to sit were no one could sneak up on you. Moody would have been proud. He busied himself with his meal, eyes constantly roaming, scanning all the patrons for any who might pose a threat. With Slytherins and Death Eaters running around, he had been quickly forced to learn to look for danger. He didn't see any. At least not until a pair of teens, one female and one male, about his age slid into the two seats on the other side of the table.

"Hiya!" One of them said. Harry instantly had his holly wand out, pointing in their direction. The boy carefully reached out with one finger and moved the tip away from him. "Cool it man." He said calmly. "We just came to talk."

"Who are you?" Harry asked, quickly double checking to make sure they had no back up.

"You can call me Jasper, Jasper le Faye. Her-" he gestured. "Call her Carmen. Or-she-who's-last-name-must-not-be-spoken." Harry snorted.

"I know someone like that, except it's her first name that must be omitted. What do you want?" He asked, not lowering his guard.

This time it was the girl who spoke. "You stick out like a sore thumb. It's obvious you don't come from around here. Therefore, you are here to either visit someone you know, which I doubt, as you are sitting alone. Or you are here for the Uluru trial. Am I correct?"

"You are." He nodded, slowly starting to relax.

"Was wondering if you would like to team up, as you can have a group up to 6. You look like you know which end of a wand is which, and I noticed you examining everyone in here when you arrived. You only learn to do that after you have gotten into a fight or two. In the interest of full disclosure, I am an elf." He tapped his ears, showing the stereotypical pointy ears. "And she is… that is for her to tell you." He concluded, catching the look she was shooting him. "You may see her in the newspaper." He added with a smirk on his face.

Harry arched an eyebrow and thumbed through the headline. One in particular caught his attention.

 _ **World-famous thief to retire after saving life.**_

 _The world famous cat thief Carmen has decided to retire from her occupation. She was notorious for her outside the box and unorthodox thefts. She had never been caught. She intervened during the attempted assignation of a high ranking member of the UN, the king of Wakanda. She has been granted a full pardon for her crimes. More information can be found on page 4…_

There was more, but that was the gist of it. The picture shown exactly matched the person sitting across from him. "Huh." Harry said loquaciously. "Interesting."

"So are you in?" Jasper asked him.

Harry pondered this for a moment. To be sure, he could use some allies here. But after the last time he had worked with others fresh in his mind, he began to doubt himself. He knew his own limits, but he had no idea about the others. And that could be problematic in a tough situation. He slowly shook his head. "No. I think it better if I work alone. I have no problem hanging out with you and exchanging tips, I just think this is something I need to do on my own." They both looked disappointed by that before Jasper shrugged.

"Oh well. At least we will know someone else there." Harry cocked an eyebrow.

"Oh? We haven't even started yet. How do you know we are going to make it?"

Carmen laughed lightly. "Please. I know we are going to make it, but the wildcard here is you. Either you are going to blow by everything, or you aren't going to make it close at all. That's just the kind of person that you are."

Harry nodded, agreeing with that analysis of him. "Sounds about right."

"Well, it was nice to meet you. What's your name?" Jasper asked, leaning forward and extending a hand.

Harry shook his hand, mentally debating with himself. They seemed nice enough, but one never knew. "My name is… Remy LeBeau." He said carefully, trying out each word as he said it.

"Nice to meet you Mr. LeBeau." Jasper said sardonically. "Perchance, is that not your real name?"

"Why would I give out my name to a pair of strangers who I just met?"

"Constant vigilance!" All three of them said together before laughing. "Apparently instructors teach that the world over. Well, it was nice to meet you. See you around." They both left, waving to him as he left. As they exited, Harry relaxed the grip he had on his willow wand under the table and smiled. One could never be too careful, after all.

(Line break)

A cloaked figure moved quickly down the middle of the Australian alley, making sure to let no one see his face. He was, for all intents and purposes, a fugitive. He could not afford to be seen and sent back. He took a quick glance through the window of a café, before his eyes widened and he forced his face back to an impassive mask. What was he doing here? For a moment, he debated about revealing himself before deciding against it. He knew what his reaction would be, but he did not wish to attract any attention. Maybe later, when he was not surrounded by so many people, would be a better time to chat.

 **A/N Most of the content of the flashback came from Studio C, not me. That episode was the one I enjoyed the most, and it just happened to fit. I recommend you check it out.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, so in the last chapter, I made a last second decision to change the identity of the girl. That necessitated a bit of change in the planned plot line. I went back and tried to correct anything that would be changed, but I may have missed some. If I did, I apologize. AVG chapter length I am gunning for is about 4 k. Anything over that was just because my muse would not be quiet, so do not get used to 6 k plus like the last couple.**

"So this is what the rules were from a previous year?" Harry asked. He was going over a small booklet with Jasper and Carmen.

"According to what my older brother said, I heard that they change the obstacles and rules every year, to prevent anyone from knowing what is going to happen." Harry nodded, perusing the notes.

"What about this section?" He asked, tapping it with a finger. "You may not use any brooms to make your way to the school." He read aloud.

Jasper took a look. "Well spotted. It only says _brooms,_ not other forms of transportation. I wonder…" He looked up at Harry. "You don't happen to be an animagus, perchance?"

"Nope." Harry said promptly. "For most of my life it was fascinating but I never got around to starting the process. I would be willing to work on it, but I don't think I could learn how properly before it starts. My best hope is spontaneously transforming under extreme stress, which usually means extreme danger. For some reason, I expect that to happen to me very shortly." He said sardonically, thinking back over his history.

"Is your life really that bad?" Jasper asked, eyes glinting with curiosity as he sat back in the short grass.

"Yes. Let me put it this way. Over the past several years, I have…" He counted them off on his fingers, one at a time. "Fought a possessed DADA teacher, recovered the Sorcerer's stone, killed a giant basilisk, was attacked by an escaped convict, captured by a criminal who had framed an innocent person for his crimes and who was presumed dead, was forced into a dangerous tournament I did not enter, fought a dragon, got arrested multiple times, vilified in the press, and invaded the ministry of magic with a few friends, and fought Voldemort multiple times personally. Need I go on?"

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Dang. Sucks to be you man. It's almost like you are an addition to Murphy's Law. I would have said something a tad stronger, but I didn't know if there were any kids reading this story." Jasper flopped back onto the grass, hands forming a cushion behind his head.

"What story? And I prefer to think of myself as Fate's chew toy, makes things easier all around." Harry asked, sure he missed something.

"Don't worry about it." Carmen waved her hand dismissively. "He spouts off weird things like that from time to time. You get used to it."

"Say!" Jasper sat up hurriedly, brushing off the grass blades that clung to his shirt distractedly. "What about Animagus forms? Are those allowed?"

"Didn't we just talk about that… never mind." He had already learned that Jasper could be a bit scatterbrained and forgetful at times. Harry paged through the pamphlet to humor him, double checking the relevant section. "It doesn't mention that. It just says no brooms or carpets…. I guess that means it allowable?" He shrugged, not knowing any more.

"This is awesome! We could fly in and be, like Smash! Bang! Boom with the lightening! And, watch us fly, we are the eagles that soar…" Jasper rubbed his hand together excitedly before he trailed off for a moment, looking sheepish. "Or we could, if one of us could fly. We can't. Do you know what your form is?"

Harry shook his head. "Never tried. We were always told we could never try to become Animagus until after we graduated."

Carmen shook her head angrily. "Ignore Jasper. We forgot that's how you do it over in England."

"Scotland, actually." Harry chimed in, before shuddering at the glare she laid on him for interrupting her. "Sorry. Don't know why I mentioned that, I won't interrupt again." He mimed zipping his mouth shut and motioned for her to continue.

"Anyway, as I was saying, most of the rest of the world just gives the potion to wizarding children on their tenth birthday, when they start school. Not that they can learn then, they just know what they can change into, helps them decide whether or not it is worth the effort." She snorted. "I mean, England, sorry, _the UK_ , has this backwards system where you meditate for almost a year before transforming. Can you imagine putting all that work in and being something like a flobberworm?" She shuddered in imaginary horror. "I think I would die from shame."

"Let's get back on topic." Jasper tried to steer them back to the topic at hand. "Neither of our forms are useful for travel. Want to go see if the Prince establishment has any of the Animagus revealing potions in stock?"

"The Prince establishment? Never heard of it. We always just went to the apothecary in Diagon Alley for ingredients for potions."

Jasper sent an incredulous glance his way. "Diagon Alley? Really? Who named that?" He crowed, starting to snicker.

"What's so funny?" Both Harry and Carmen were looking at him with one eyebrow raised.

"Look, get rid of the space and pronounce it as one word, and see what you get. Diagon Alley. DiagonAlley. _Diagonally_. You go shopping at somewhere that describes a direction? Really? And Nocturn Alley? _Nocturnally_." He wiped a tear from his eye and he tried to regain his breath, slapping his knee in mirth. "That is classic Brit behavior."

Harry considered that for a moment. "I… hadn't thought of that before. Wizards, at least the English ones, seem to have problems with logic. It does seem rather funny now that you mention it. Hey, wait a minute. You never said what your Animagus forms were."

Both of his companions quieted for a moment. "I'll go first." Carmen said hesitantly. "I really don't have an Animagus form, per se… I think of it more as a different side of myself I normally don't let out to play. It's not really a good one to let loose around other people, so if you don't mind, I think I would prefer to keep it to myself."

Harry nodded his head agreeably. "Completely understandable. I have secrets of my own. We just met, no way am I going to push you to reveal something you don't seem comfortable with."

Carmen and Jasper seemed to release some unseen tension at this point, which didn't escape the eye of their new friend, but he said nothing about it, seeing as it was an uncomfortable topic for them. Carmen recovered first. "Jasper, your turn now."

He groaned and rolled onto his belly. "Do I have to? It's embarrassing." He complained. "I- OUCH!" He scrambled to his feet, dancing in pain. "Getitoffgetitoffgetitoffgetitoffgetitoff!" He yelped, hands brushing desperately at the front of his shirt, trying to dislodge what looked almost like a horde of large brown spots that were crawling over him, and, presumably, causing him pain.

"Australian ants!" Carmen was by his side in a moment. "They hate the cold. This might hurt a bit, so feel free to scream." She hit him with a freezing charm.

While this did make them let go, it also had the unfortunate side effect of causing them to bite down harder before they let go. Once they were all either dead or gone, Jasper sighed in relief. "Can you keep that up? It's numbing the bites, and I have the sneaking suspicion that this is going to hurt like hell when it stops. Plus, it helps keep me cool."

"Sure." She kept up the cooling charm on him. "Besides, now we have even more reason to go to the Prince Establishment. They also double as doctors. You need to get that looked at, some of those ants were massive."

"Everything's bigger in Australia, even the ants." Jasper joked, teeth gritted. "But if we could get there in a hurry, that would be great. I can feel them starting to swell."

Harry quickly packed up everything they had brought with them back into the container, before scooping that up. "Then what are we waiting for? Over the bridge, and into the town, to the doctor's house we go."

(Line break)

They pushed up the doors of the Prince Establishment, sighing in relief as the wall of chilled air hit them head on. "At least here some wizards seem to have discovered that muggles have come up with stuff that surpasses us in some ways." Harry muttered to himself, taking note of the massive air-conditioning units and vents.

They lugged a moaning Jasper up to the front desk, where an older woman stood, hair pulled into a bun. Her name tag read Eileen. "Welcome to the Prince establishment, how may I help you?"

Carmen gestured to Jasper. "Our friend here got bitten by some massive ants."

Eileen raised an eyebrow. "Really? That's the sixth case this week around here. I must remember to call an exterminator or something. She hustled them into one of the rooms branching off the main lobby, which (at least to Harry's point of view) contained all the elaborate equipment one would find in a muggle doctor's office, plus some instruments he didn't recognize. She examined the bites before she clucked disapprovingly. "I hate dealing with these cases. That particular brand of ants is attracted to magic. Give me a minute." She cast a diagnostic spell on him before turning and rustling through the cabinets above the sink. She pulled out a bottle and some bandages. After drizzling the contents of the green tinted bottle, which read "Essence of Murtlap" over the bandages, she pressed them over the bites before casting a sticking charm to hold them in place.

She stood back, rubbing her hands together in satisfaction. "Keep that on for the next few hours, and then you can take it off. Now, Carmen, I assume you are here for you usual?"

Carmen nodded. "Yes, A please. And could we also have one batch of Animagus revealing potion please? Charge it to the normal account."

"Of course, I will be right back. Feel free to stay here as long as you need. I'll be fetching your order right away." She bustled out of the room leaving the three alone.

They stayed silent for a minute before Harry snapped his fingers. "I knew I forgot something. Jasper, you never said what your form was."

The elf looked shifty for a moment. "Can I plead the fifth?"

"You could…" Jasper started to smile "If we were in America. Which we are not. There is no constitution to protect you here so… that would be a no." Harry smirked.

"Fine." He sighed. He mumbled something too low for Harry to hear.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"Fine! I'm a pink fairy armadillo, alright!" He exploded, turning away and pouting.

The raven haired boy's eyebrows drew together. "A pink… what?"

"A pink fairy armadillo." Carmen explained, enjoying every moment of this as Jasper cast her a look of betrayal. "Is an armadillo that is pink, very fluffy, and lives in Argentina."

Harry pondered that for a moment. "Pink and fluffy eh? Very macho Jasper."

"Oh, hardy har har. Laugh it up." He gave Carmen an evil glower. "Maybe I should tell him about you…"

Carmen stood up from the revolving chair she had been relaxing in and pinned Jasper in place with a glare so fierce Harry shivered, even though it wasn't aimed at him. "You could." She agreed frostily. "If you felt like getting into a fight we both know you wouldn't win."

Jasper quailed and hurriedly backtracked. "Of course, of course, I was just joking." He said hurriedly, trying to appease her.

She smiled brightly. "Good. Then we won't have a problem." She sat back down, giving no sign of ever having been angry.

Harry shook his head in amusement. "You two have an interesting relationship, that's for sure."

They were interrupted by Eileen, who came into the room carrying a cup in one hand and a small wooden box in the other. She gave the box to Carmen, who slipped it in her pocket, and gave the cup to Harry. "One Animagus revealing potion, as requested. If I were you, I would be sitting or lying down when you drink it, unless you want to lose your balance and fall down." He nodded, grateful for her advice, and took a seat. He looked into the cup before looking back at the manager.

"Why is this in a cup? Most of the potions I have ever had come in a vial. And it smells great! Shouldn't it taste horrible? Not that I'm complaining, of course."

She looked amused by his questions. "The cup because not only is it reusable and easier to clean than the vial, it is also cheaper. I could have made it foul-tasting, but it would have added several extra steps to the brewing process. I decided not to. Unless, of course, you wish for me to change it?" She held out her hand for the cup and Harry moved it away from her protectively.

"No, no, it's fine, thanks, just curious." He drank it quickly before she could get her hands on it, and promptly the world blurred before his eyes.

(Line break)

He found himself standing on dry ground, but unable to see very far, as the area seemed to be solid gray. He waved his hand around and watched as the gray mist (for that was what it was) swirled around slightly. "Hello?" He called out tentatively. For some reason he felt compelled to keep his voice down even as he revealed his presence to anyone, or anything, lurking in the fog.

Nothing answered him, as his vice seemed to barely leave his mouth before dying. "Alright, so that didn't work. How about this?" He pulled out his holly wand and gave it a wave. "Lumos." The tip pulsed fitfully once before the wand began dissolving in his hand.

Dimly, he knew that he should probably be panicking about it, but the only thing he could think was 'I never really liked that wand anyway'. It probably would be a good idea not to try that with his brand new wand, after having seen what happened to the first one. Having nothing better to do, he began to walk, his footfalls muffled as he went into the fog.

After around what felt like five minutes (though it may have been an eternity for all he knew) he heard the crunch of gravel under his feet. That alone was worthy of notice, considering that it was the first sound other than the mutter of his own voice that he had heard while in this dreary fog. The second thing he noticed was that the fog began to eddy and swirl around and in front of him as he walked. That was also good news, at least to him, so he picked up the pace, increasing his speed slowly until he was almost running, desperate to get out of the fog.

He suddenly burst into clear air, causing him to jam on the brakes at the sudden change. Peering cautiously in front of him, he saw a lonely stretch of pebbled beach stretching in front of him. Quiet breakers broke on the shore as he stood there, silent for a moment. The sky was dark, with no moon or stars visible. In fact, no light at all was present, and yet he _saw_ what was in front of him. He just knew that it was there, even if it should be physically impossible for him to have vision in these conditions.

A small lump, or perhaps a bundle, was on the beach about fifteen yards in front of him. Something about it felt important, and he slowly walked towards it, hand outstretched to touch it. At the moment before his hand made contact, a head whipped around to look at him. He saw that it was a fox, before his hand touched it's shoulder and white light exploded from the contact, blinding him.

(Line break)

The first sensation he recognized when he woke was that of the pain in his lower back. After that, it was the words that he vaguely recognized. Something about somebody waking up. Then it all came flooding back to him at once, and he sat up with a gasp. Or at least, he tried to. He ran into hands about half-way up that pushed him back down onto the bed (for that was what he was laying on). "What?"

"Rest." Jasper said firmly. "Relax first, then we can talk. Something went wrong when you drank the potion. Can you tell us what happened?"

"Sure." He explained what had gone on during the mist, and when he finished he saw that Carmen had a troubled face. "What is it?"

"Harry… There is no such thing as gray mist. The two colors are black, if you do not have a form, or white, where the animal appears to you. You certainly should never touch the creature that appears to you."

Harry shrugged as best he could from his prone position. "Well, I wish someone had bothered to tell me all that. I'm British, remember? I would have no way of knowing what to do. And why do I have so much pain in my lower back?"

The three people by his bedside, including Eileen, exchanged worried glances. "Yes… about that… we think that something… unusual happened when you touched the fox."

Harry waved a hand dismissively. "Great. More impossible, unlikely, and improbable things occurring around me. Like I said earlier, I'm a play toy of fate or something, the number of time stuff like this has happened to me is unreal. You kind of get used to it after a while. What happened?"

"Well…" Jasper licked his lips nervously. "You may kind of… sort off… maybe have a tail."

He did his best to stay calm, even though Harry wanted to jump up screaming. "A tail." He repeated, trying to keep his voice even. "I assume, because it was a fox that I saw, that it is a fox tail?"

"Correct."

"Great. I take back what I said earlier. You never get used to this. And I am definitely something for the universe to make fun of at this point, no if's, and's, or but's about it." He flopped back with a sigh. "Can I at least try to stand up now? I think my tail does not like being laid on."

Jasper turned to look at the worker. "Eileen? Is that all right?"

The older woman shrugged. "I don't see why not." Not waiting for any further confirmation, Harry quickly got to his feet and walked around a bit, making sure he didn't lose his balance due to his new addition. He looked back to see the other three still staring expectantly at the bed, where… another version of him still lay there? That didn't make sense. He was pretty sure he didn't split himself apart.

"Harry? Are you going to get up?" Carmen asked, still looking at his doppelgänger in the bed.

"Guys, I'm over here." At the sound of his voice coming from behind them, they jumped, before wheeling on him.

"But… You're still there…" Carmen said, gesturing back at the bed.

Harry frowned. "Yes, I noticed that. I don't think it's me, let me try something." He snapped his fingers, concentrating hard on his wish for his alter ego to disappear. It suddenly faded, and Harry smiled, pleased with himself. "Huh. Learn a new thing every day."

Jasper sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Completely putting aside the fact that you just did some sort of wandless, wordless magic, how are you feeling?"

Harry spun in place, did a few jumping jacks, and walked a few paces. "I feel fine, honestly. The tail feels natural, with no extra weight. Although, I could see it being a problem, remembering to compensate so I don't get it caught on something when I walk by." He peered over his shoulder, trying to get a glimpse of the red fox tail he now possessed.

"You do realize you could, I don't know, grab hold of your tail so you could see it? No need to break your neck to look at it." Eileen pointed out reasonably.

He looked sheepish for a moment. "Right. Forgot about that." He gathered the tail in his hands and pulled it around so he could see. "Huh. It's bigger than I expected. If I have the tail, does that also mean that…?" He trailed off, focusing hard, and shivered as a pair of pointed ears appeared on the top of his head as his normal ones vanished. "So that's what it felt like. No wonder Hermione freaked out. It feels kinda ticklish." He said, twitching them back and forth before stroking them gently with one hand.

"Interesting. So what does that make you?"

"No idea." Harry shrugged. "I have basilisk venom and Phoenix tears in my veins as well, so, at this point, anyone's guess. I feel more natural without the tail and ears, at least for now." He quickly got rid of the ears and tail. "That's better. Now, is my wand okay?" He reached into his pocket and felt a pile of wood bits. He pulled them out and placed them on the table for everyone to see.

"I'm going to go ahead and assume that's bad." He said, staring at the remnants of his wand. Sure, he liked his new one better, but this was his first wand he had ever used. That gave it a special connection, at least to his mind.

"You still have your spare right?" Jasper asked, feeling odd to be the voice of reason. "Will it still work?"

"That's a good question." He fumbled for it, finally grasping it. "Son of a-" He cut himself off as he yanked his hand away from the wand, sending it flying across the room. "It burned me!" He complained, showing them the thin char mark that ran across the palm of his hand.

"Interesting…" Carmen mused. She carefully picked it up, bracing to be burned. When nothing happened, she brought it over to him. "Want to try again?"

"Why not? I assume you can heal this, right?" He asked, glancing at Eileen. At the nod, he sighed. "Oh well." He laid a finger on it before he snatched it back like he was touching a hot stove. "Nope. Still burned me."

"I think I know what your problem is." Carmen pulled her wand and held it out to him. "Touch it." He did as instructed, though cautiously; and nothing happened. "I thought so. Eileen, could you heal his hand please? We need to go see Olivander." After his hand was healed, the three said goodbye to Eileen and thanked her for her help before going to see the wand maker.

(Line break)

The bell above the door tinkled as they entered and Olivander was in front of them almost instantly. "My, my, back already Mr. LeBeau? What seems to be the problem?"

"My wand burned me. Twice." Harry pouted petulantly, upset that he needed to make yet another trip to the shop.

"Mr. Olivander, I think I know why. Do you happen to have a piece of willow wood somewhere in this shop?" Carmen asked politely.

The old man stared at her intently. "Of course I do, I make wands for a living, and I have most types of wood. But why…" He shrugged and went to grab the piece of wood from one of the shelves. He brought it back and offered it to Harry to touch.

He did so and cursed again. "Crap, that hurts! Why do you have me keep doing that?" He whined, shaking his hand in pain.

Mr. Olivander didn't answer, instead staring at him with new eyes. "Kitsune…" He whispered.

"Excuse me? What did you call me?"

"Kitsune. A Japanese prankster fox, that can shapeshift between human and fox forms. They are very clever, and are distantly related to the trickster known as Old Man Coyote in the United States. "

Carmen nodded. "Exactly. He has all the signs. The tail, ears, and a brand new massive weakness to willow wood. Though I have never heard of a Kitsune that could vanish their ears and tail before. Glamour or hide it, yes, but make it disappear…"

Olivander nodded thoughtfully. "If anyone could do it, it would be this young man right here. I warrant that he has a new affinity for fire magic, and could throw the odd fireball."

"I can throw fireballs? So like Fleur?" Harry asked, interested that he may actually get something good out of this.

"I would imagine so. You cannot touch your wand, correct? Let me see what I can do about that." He reached beneath the counter and fiddled with something. A drawer popped open and he pulled out a massive book, almost a foot and a half thick. It was caked with dust and looked ancient, as though it was on the verge of falling apart. "Olivander family secrets." He said, by way of an explanation. "Tools and tricks of the trade. What I am looking for is something I can coat your wand with to enable you to hold it."

"Like a candle?" Jasper asked, having been an interested spectator to this point.

"Along those lines. I was thinking metal myself, but wax might work. The problem there is, again, fire magic. It would melt right through the wax. Ah, here we are." He pointed to a specific page, no. 23601. "I think an iron coating would work well, the only problem is that iron is resistant to magic, think of it as a magic insulator. That would mean the magic could not escape past the iron, so I would need to make hundreds of tiny holes. It will be hard, but I think I can handle it."

"How long will that take?" Harry asked.

"Probably two hours or so. I could do a rush job, but it would be lower quality. Do you care if I add in some extra charms and such?" He queried, head tilted to one side.

"Like what?"

"I was thinking one that would let you extend it and use it like a pole, or a Bo staff. Something like that. Most wizards won't expect you to expand your wand and swing a metal club at their head. Wizards do not tend to do well with physical violence."

"Go ahead. Could you also make a holster for it, like something that can go on my belt?" He asked hopefully.

"With ease. Come back in two hours, Mr. LeBeau, and your wand will be done, or my name isn't Olivander!" He scurried into the back rooms, leaving the three friends at the counter.

"Soooooooooo…" Jasper drew the word out. "Who's up for a game of Poker?"

"What's poker?" Harry asked innocently. The look in Jasper's eye could best be described as that of a predator at that moment. He would be wearing a different expression a few hours later.


	6. Chapter 6

**Yes, I am perfectly aware that the area around Alice Springs in real life is scrubby bushes and desert. No, I have a range of environments in this chapter. Yes, I know it is not real. No, I am not going to change it. This is fanfiction for a reason.**

"You lied!" Jasper cried, aggravated, throwing his latest hand of cards high into the air, where they scattered and fell to the ground like confetti. "You said you had never played poker before!"

"Did I?" Harry cocked an eyebrow and folded his arms, sitting back smugly. "I don't think I did. I just asked what poker was. I never said I had never played it." He adopted a superior expression and stuck his nose in the air.

"He has a point." Carmen pointed out, looking like she was trying hard not to burst out laughing as she leaned back in her black chair next to Jasper. "You just assumed. Never assume when it comes to poker. You should already know that." She tapped one finger against her chin absentmindedly. "Aren't you the expert out of the two of you?"

"What else was I supposed to think?" Jasper asked incredulously, standing up in mock outrage. "Who asks questions like that unless they don't know how to play?"

"You aren't supposed to think, that's our job!" Carmen and Harry chorused together, before exchanging surprised glances. "Also, he does. You should know." Carmen tacked on as an afterthought.

"Great minds think alike, apparently." Jasper said snappishly, somewhat irritated, ducking under the branch of a neraby tree.

"Yes, exactly!" Harry pointed a finger at him "Thanks! I knew there was a quote we were supposed to use."

"Oh forget it." Jasper mumbled. "Let's go pick up your new iron stick." They walked in silence for a moment before Jasper's eyes widened and he turned to face Carmen. "That was a prank, wasn't it? You were somehow telling Harry what cards I had!"

Carmen looked innocently at him, while Harry glanced away and began to whistle lightly. "Would I do that?" She asked, sounding offended.

"Yes." Jasper said simply.

"Ask me no questions, and I will tell you no lies." Harry interjected, dropping his mask of innocence and throwing one arm over Jasper's shoulder. "Besides, you were cheating too. I know Carmen gave you four threes. You had to have made a switch." He snorted. "I couldn't just let you get away with it. What was I supposed to do - call you for cheating in the middle of the game? I just out cheated you." He flashed the four jacks he had used to beat Jasper's four nines.

Jasper thought that over for a minute as his brow furrowed. "Fair enough, I guess. Shall we go pick up your purchase?"

"Yes. I believe we shall."

* * *

The three of them, led by Harry, returned to the wand shop for the third time in the last few days. "You are becoming a regular here." Ollivander muttered, appearing in front of them as was his habit. "Maybe I should give you some kind of discount for this." The old man stroked his goatee thoughtfully. "Maybe frequent appearance miles or something. Why are you here?" He asked, curious.

Harry looked at the old man funny, one eyebrow raised. "Uh, my wand? I came to pick it up, just like you said. Isn't it ready?" He asked, irritated at the thought of having to come back _again._

"I should say so!" The wand maker retorted, sounding excited as he waved his hand around furiously. "I had it done half an hour ago, when a friend of yours came in here and said he was here to pick up the new wand. Didn't you send him?"

"No. I was busy playing poker this whole time." Harry denied instantly. "Besides, I would never send a friend to come pick up my wand- no offense guys." He cast a sidelong glance at the other two.

Carmen shook her head. "None taken. Whatever would you do if it bonded to us, for instance? That would be more than a little awkward. I wouldn't want you to pick up my focus either." Harry glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and noticed her fingering what looked like a broken pendant or locket before she saw him watching and quickly hid it again, stuffing in deep into her ruby red coat.

"So you are saying someone just walked in here, asked for the wand, and walked out again with it? Didn't you ask for some kind of proof or something?" Harry gritted his teeth in exasperation. _Blast the wizarding world's lack of logic! A thief could make out like a bandit in the magical world apparently._

Ollivander's shoulders slumped in disappointment. "What was I supposed to ask for? For instance, you just met these two the other day, but you trust them already. I apologize for this Mr. Potter. I will begin the search for the thief immediately."

"What did he look like?" Jasper asked, conjuring a notebook and pencil. He flipped the cover opened and poised the writing instrument over the page. "Height, weight, skin color, hair color, what? Can you give us a description?"

"There were two of them." The wand maker replied, busying himself with something behind the counter that seemed to occupy most of his attention. "The one that came inside was named Zack, he said that the girl waiting outside was named Ivy. They-" he was interrupted by a loud groan from Carmen.

"Don't bother looking for them. I know these two. If I had to guess, this is all just a massive misunderstanding. I'll handle this, be right back." She yanked on her gloves one at a time, spun on her heel and left the building, red coat swirling in the wind.

After she had stormed out the three males in the room exchanged uneasy looks. "Any idea what she is going to do?" Ollivander finally asked.

"Not a clue." Jasper threw his hands up in exasperation, narrowly missing a shelf full of wands. "She could go up and ask nicely, or she could obliterate them. It all depends on her current attitude, though she tries to avoid harming people whenever possible. Especially those two. If I was a betting man-" he shot a dirty look at Harry, who had seen the irony and had already opened his mouth for a snarky quip. "-don't even think about it." he growled, still smarting over his earlier loss. "I would bet- guess!" He hurriedly corrected himself. "that they are seen again. Probably not by us, but they will likely survive." Jasper walked over to a empty, if dusty, counter, and sat on it, swinging his legs back and forth.

Ollivander cleared his throat after a few minutes of silence and reached into a pocket. "Anyone here know how to play poker?"

* * *

Carmen came back about an hour later, triumphantly holding a wrapped silk package. "Got it. Once they understood what was going on, they gave it to me to return it. Apparently, they didn't get the memo that I have retired from my previous occupation when it got too boring. Here you go." Carmen carefully unwrapped it, before handing it to Harry. The moment she was no longer holding it, she immediately wiped her hand off on her coat, drawing a few odd looks. "It feels... _wrong,_ " she explained, rubbing at her hand furiously. "It did not like my magic. That's why I wrapped it in silk, to protect myself."

Harry twirled it around, examining it closely. From any distance over about four feet, it looked like a solid bar of metal, but closer examination revealed it to be covered with thousands of tiny holes. "It feels like a nightstick." He commented, measuring the heft as he swung it back and forth. "You said it expanded?"

"Yes." Ollivander carefully took it from him. "Like this." He gave a sharp snap of his wrist and the bar seemed to grow into his hand until it was almost as tall as Harry was. "Your Bo staff." He handed it back to Harry, who twirled it around, spinning it from hand to hand then behind his back before shrinking it again.

"Perfectly balanced," he commented, impressed. "Let me try something. _Incendio!_ " A blast of heat roared from the end of the wand, spiraling away as the basic flame spell came out as something much bigger, an inferno, sending a big blast of fire towards the wall of the wand shop.

"Look out!" Mr. Ollivander yelped in indignation and threw up a shield to block it, before scowling at him, his eyebrows slightly crisped by the fire as smoke started to dissipate from where the fire had met the shield.

"Not in my shop, if you please. I haven't forgotten how you almost destroyed my shop getting your first wand, I don't need a repeat." He said firmly, warily looking at the young wizard, wand in hand.

Harry didn't hear him, too busy gazing at the once-again regular sized wand in his hand. "I thought you said a minor affinity to fire?" He asked, attention only half on the wand maker.

The wand maker shrugged. "Minor is a relative term." Shrugging, he waved a hand from side to side. "Kitsune are known for their fire prowess, even though you are not a particularly powerful wizard. I know people keep saying that you are, though I can never understand why. Maybe they mean compared to other English wizards... Anyway, I have other things to do, so if you will excuse me..." Busying himself with something behind the counter, Ollivander pointedly ignored the three of them. Taking the hint, the three friends retreated back outside and headed towards the main plaza, preparing for another round of cards.

* * *

"Let me guess. Here for the test?" A mischievous voice asked from behind them. All three spun around, glaring daggers at the slim man who stood behind them, previously unnoticed. He had dark jeans, a maroon/brown shirt with the top button undone and a olive army jacket with a lot of pockets. His brownish hair was swept slightly to one side and he was munching on a chocolate bar, leaning causally against the brick wall.

"Yeah, we are. What's it to you?" Jasper asked aggressively. Harry elbowed him in the side, clearing his throat as he did so. ' _Be polite'_ Harry mouthed at him

"Sorry about that. My associate here was a little irritated by your... sudden appearance." He cast a warning glance at Jasper, urging him to stay silent. "All three of us are ready."

The man cast a skeptical glance over the three of them. "You do realize that only about a fourth of the people who attempt to make it to Uluru actually do? Just warning you in the interests of full disclosure." He waited a moment, giving them a chance to object before holding up three fingers on his hand, counting down one at a time. "Going once... Going twice... Sold!" He finished his chocolate bar and pulled a pack of bubblegum out of one of his many pockets. He popped a piece of gum in his mouth before pausing. "Sorry, that was rude of me. Any of you want some gum? No? Fine." He pouted for a moment before raising one hand in the air and snapping his fingers. A stack of books appeared in his other hand, which he quickly distributed to all of them.

"What is this?" Carmen asked, examining hers closely.

"It's something the boss man wanted to try. You point it at an obstacle you run into, and it will give you some information on it." He rolled his eyes. "Apparently he got tired of filling out all the paperwork for the high mortality rate. People these days will jump at a chance to sue you for things like that." He made a face at the thought. "That reminds me. Supposed to give you these too." He snapped his fingers again and a compass shimmered into existence on top of the book that each of them were holding.

"And this?" Jasper asked, scooping it into his hand and spinning it around rapidly, eyes glued to the shiny casing as it reflected beams of sunlight around the area.

 _'Almost like a magpie.'_ Harry realized, amused. _'Obsessed with shiny things.'_

"Eh. Nothing important. JK guys. It will always point to the school, assuming you don't, I don't know, wear tennis shoes instead of cowboy boots or something. Or walk into the Atlantic, I heard something about that voiding the warranty..." He shook himself back to reality for a moment. "I wanted to make them point the wrong way, and make the books give the wrong information, but spoilsport said no. So I had to content myself with only messing up your stuff instead of everyone's! Isn't that great?"

"No... Not really..." Jasper gave his new equipment a doubtful once over.

"I swear, if you gave us faulty equipment, I am going to hunt you down and beat you to death with a paper tissue." Harry warned the messenger, who shrugged, not caring. "Do you work for the school?"

The man looked scandalized by the suggestion. "Me? Work? Hah, good one kid. No, just doing this as a favor for an old friend." He cocked his head to one side for a moment, thinking. "Or maybe it's new friend... Time travel is confusing. I really hate continuity errors."

"I'm sorry, _what_?" Harry burst out.

The man in the olive jacket pretended not to hear him and kept talking, counting on his fingers as he went. "Now, let me see... I think I forgot something. Offered poisoned candy, check. Gave them jinxed books and broken compasses, yep. Oh, yes. Rules are in the front of the book. You got two days, so I would take a hike if I were you three. Allons-y!" He snapped his fingers and disappeared.

The three of them were left staring at the empty spot where he had been, dumbstruck. "Do you think he was joking when he said 'jinxed books and broken compasses'?" Carmen asked cautiously.

"I think I know him from somewhere..." Harry mused aloud, looking at the sky. "Anyway, I think we should get going. We are on the clock, so let's look at the new rules and get out of here."

"And no cheating! There aren't many rules, but they are ironclad. If you break them we will know." The voice of the man who had given them the gear echoed through the air as Jasper opened his book to look inside. "Other than that, have at it!"

"Was that-" Jasper started to ask before getting cut off.

"The book? Yes!" It said impatiently. "What did you think said that? It's not like I'm standing around that corner throwing my voice over there. Oops, probably should not have said it. _That_ came out wrong. Anyway, I promise that this is the last time I'm gonna talk to you (fingers crossed), the man upstairs is not happy with me for saying as much as I have. Good luck, and remember, both hands on the wheel when you drive! Beam me up Scotty." The voice went silent.

"You know what? I really don't care anymore. Let's just pretend that didn't happen and blow this joint." Jasper muttered, rubbing his forehead with one hand. "He gave me a headache."

"Why did you say 'blow this joint'?" Harry asked curiously. "I didn't think anyone said that anymore."

Carmen sighed. "He thinks it makes him sound hip. Don't look, it will only encourage him, but I bet he is wearing sunglasses right now."

"Cool, do you have a spare pair for me?" Harry asked Jasper eagerly.

"Or you could ignore me, that works too..."

* * *

"Got all of the gear?" Harry asked, double checking to make sure they were prepared.

"Do you even need to ask? We have been waiting for this moment for the last few days. Of course we have everything." Jasper snorted. "Let's go, we are wasting daylight."

"Then let's get started." The three of them left the town at a steady run, following the needle of the compass (and hoping the messenger hadn't screwed with them too badly). They said nothing to each other, preferring to save their energy and breath for the long trek ahead, the only sound the slapping of their feet against the ground. A few miles out, they saw a small stand, manned by a single person leaning on the counter. He brought one hand to his mouth and let out a piercing whistle, gathering their attention.

"Over here!" He yelled, waving them over. "Uluru right? Please sign this legal waiver stating we are not responsible for death, dismemberment, starvation, drowning, madness, sickness, cuts, burns, bruises, etc."

"Do we have to?" Harry asked, shuddering at the thought of paperwork.

The man put one hand to his chin as if in thought. "No, you don't, if you want your results to not count. Otherwise, I recommend you sign and get back on track. All you have to do is touch your focus of choice to the bottom of the waiver. Quick and easy." After the three of them did so, he rolled up the waivers and put them in a box. "One last minute tip. Paintings are one of the few ways to get to the school in time."

"What does that even mean?" Carmen asked angrily. "What is it with people giving us incomplete information?"

He shrugged, leaning back underneath a portable air conditioner. "Can't tell you more. Everyone who passes through here gets a random hint to help them. The few ways to the school close and become impassable the moment after a person or group uses them. So, you have to find one before someone else does. If they are all used and you aren't past..." He waved one hand dismissively. "Too bad for you."

"Well... Thanks for at least telling us that much." Jasper said politely.

"No problem. I would recommend that if you intend to part ways you do so here, and hurry."

The three stood awkwardly around for a moment before Harry cleared his throat loudly. "Well, I guess this is... goo-"

"No." Carmen broke in. "This is not goodbye. We will see each other within the next day or two."

"Yeah!" Jasper flashed a smile. "See you there."

"Same." Harry grinned mischievously. "Race you!" He wheeled around and sprinted away, smiling as Jasper's and Carmen's indignant 'Hey!' reached his ears. He snorted mentally. As if he was going to give them an even start with him. Then he banished the thought from his head, concentrating on the task at hand. Running. Running. And more running. After around fifteen minutes, he began clambering up the side of the hill on his right. As he poked his head over the top of the ground he yelped before jerking it back hurriedly as he narrowly dodged a blast of fire that nearly singed his hair. Apparently that broke whatever he had done to keep his fox ears gone, because they reappeared on his head, twitching back and forth. Harry felt them with one hand before sighing. He didn't have the time or magic to spare on vanishing them right now. "Bless you Hagrid, for teaching us how to deal with Blast-Ended Skrewts," he muttered, spinning out from behind his cover and throwing spells designed to flip the skrewt over. This was much easier said than done, as the skrewt was letting loose constant blazes of flame.

Eventually though, Harry made a mistake. As he tried to dance around the latest fiery whirlwind his foot caught on a small ridge that sent him sprawling to the ground. He screwed his eyes shut and braced himself as he was hit head on by a fireball. He heard a small whoosh and felt a warm wind on his face. A few seconds later, when nothing else happened, he cracked one eye open, risking a look at the skrewt. The two opponents stared at each other in amazement for a few moments. Harry was perfectly fine. "Waddaya know. Kitsune are good for something else besides throwing fireballs," Harry mused aloud as he smiled slowly. "For that matter, why am I even fighting this thing? I can just outrun it, not like there is a lack of room here in the Outback."

He clambered back to his feet and started on a circular path around the beast, feet slipping and skidding slightly in the loose sand and dirt on the ground. Staggering slightly, he lunged with one foot to regain his balance before he yelped in shock and pitched forward onto his face. Yanking his head up to look around, he froze. "No way." He looked at the blanket of snow surrounding him and his feet, with the Harry-shaped depression in the powdery flakes laying before him. Then he jerked around, looking at the desert only a few steps behind him.

"How the heck is this possible? This is Australia, in the summertime! How is there snow?" He growled in frustration, checking his pack for any winter equipment he had with him. After he had dug to the bottom of his backpack though, he was forced to give it up as a fruitless endeavor. The closest thing he had that he could use was a windbreaker. Donning the light jacket, he turned to stare ahead into the snowy expanse that stretched out in front of him, with dark gray storm clouds forming in the sky above the mountains he was now confronted with. "And of course there are mountains to make it more difficult. This just keeps getting better" he muttered, starting to trudge forward carefully.

After a few steps, his shoes were soaked with cold snow, freezing his feet. Harry tried to use his new found firepowers to dry his feet off, but only succeeded in melting the snow in the general vicinity, dousing his feet in ice water. "Dang it." he muttered, continuing forward as the snow got deeper. "Then I will just burn my way through it." Focusing, a stream of fire shot from his wand, burning a path through the snow, forming a scorch mark on the frozen earth underneath it. ' _That makes me better than Gandalf'_ a bored part of his mind pointed out. ' _You can burn snow, he can't.'_

He continued his hike, periodically stopping to melt a path through the now chest height snow. Finally reaching the peak of the mountain he was currently climbing, he halted, surveying the other side. The mountain sloped to ground level, then climbed into another massive hill, but after that... "Forest." Hary muttered. "At least no more of this wet stuff." Kitsune he may be, but that didn't mean he had to like the cold.

Carefully picking his way down the rocky crags, feet sliding in the unstable footing, he decided to stop with the fire. He needed his full concentration to make it down the mountainside in one piece, he didn't need to make the ground wetter than it already was. He was about three quarters of the way down when he heard a shrill whistle splitting the air, rising slowly in pitch until the sound hurt his sensitive ears. Harry hunched over, hands clamped over his furred ears, trying to protect them. Finally, the whistle stopped and Harry sighed in relief. Whirling around, he cast his gaze back up the way he had come, finally spotting a small man with a long beard and absolutly massive feet, waving frantically. The figure seemed to be covered in... white fur? He squinted to see better, only to yelp as a massive wave of snow slowly surged forward from near the summit, gaining momentum and crashing down like the fist of God. Harry cast his strongest shield and braced himself, crouching down on one knee. Vaguely, he noticed that the small man seemed to be surfing on the crest of the avalanche using his remarkably large feet. That was the last thing he saw before the snow thundered over him and the sunlight was cut off by a carpet of snow.

 **Just a little allusion to the movie The Sting, with regards to the poker game at the beginning. Nothing to see here.**


End file.
